Only Happy When it Rains
by counting ufos
Summary: After a heartbreaking breakup with Harry, Ginny's life turns upside down. She befriends Blaise Zabini and soon after that, Draco Malfoy. With a twisted plan in the making, how can Draco protect Ginny from his own family? [DMGW] ON HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic so don't hate :D

Disclaimer: Uhm, never understood why people put these up, because why would JK Rowling waste time writing fanfics when she's the brain behind it all? Hmm...

Chapter 1--Deceit

She couldn't believe it. How could he do this to her? Him, the most noble, heroic person she knew was capable of doing something like this? She just couldn't believe it. Everytime she thought back to it, her heart wrenched and tears gathered at the back of her eyes, threatening to fall down her face. _Maybe that's why he did it,_ she thought to herself, _because of my face._ Her cream-colored skin with a light dusting of freckles must have been unappealing to such a ruggedly-handsome guy. Ginny Weasley looked down at her hands, watching them fidget in her lap.

She hated herself. She thought it was all her fault why he did that...unspeakable, sinful act. She only wish she was stronger, emotionally. Ginny would march right up to him and say 'Boy Who Lived, more like Boy Who Wishes He _Didn't_.' She couldn't believe Harry had cheated on her. After all she'd done for him, he had to be unfaithful. _Harry freakin' Potter_. Ginny was actually grateful that she got a compartment on the Hogwarts Express to herself. She didn't want to see anyone, talk to anyone, _be_ with anyone. She just wanted to get to the castle and finish her sixth year so she could move on quicker to her seventh. That's when the compartment door slid open.

"Hey Gin! How was your summer?" Colin Creevey practically yelled into her compartment. She didn't answer him. She didn't want to speak. "Ginny, are you okay? It's me, Colin."

She gave him a hard look which he read as a sign for him to leave. "Okay, then," he muttered and he backed out of the compartment cautiously. Ginny threw herself across the seats and stared up at the ceiling. She had no one. Not even her best friend, well _ex_-best friend now. Mallory Sinclair. Granted, she was a Hufflepuff, but she and Ginny had gotten quite close over the past few years at Hogwarts. She was everything Ginny envied: she had long, straight black hair, that caught the light every time she walked into a room; she had a perfect hourglass shape, not to mention she was in great shape; she had a flawless olive complexion and icy blue eyes that could pierce your very heart. _Maybe it's my hair..._ Ginny thought. _My hair must be such a distraction, like a huge stop light._ She immediately started pulling at her hair in contempt, eventually she just threw it back and tried very hard to ignore it. Her hair was your average red hair. Nothing special or glamorous about it. It was thick and straight and feel to just below her shoulder blades. She always wished she had curly hair, but her hair was too thick to allow it. _Figures..._

Ginny absolutely hated Mallory.

It was right before summer ended. They had been staying at 12 Grimmauld Place again. They were getting ready to go to Diagon Alley for their annual before-school shopping trip. Harry was no where to be found. They looked in every room in the house, no matter how tedious that turned out to be. Growing worried, Mrs. Weasley took Ginny to the Burrow to see if maybe he went back there to get something he may have left there. They floo'd to the Burrow and immediately started calling out his name. Ginny took upstairs, while her mother searched downstairs and in the yard. As Ginny was ascending the staircase, she heard a thump and scrambling voices above. She ran up the stairs and swung open the door to the room Ron and Harry used to share. Her heart stopped at what she saw. She saw her friend, her _best_ friend no less, scrambling to get her clothes on while Harry looked around for his shirt. Ginny backed away from the scene, pinching herself to make sure it was a reality. Harry walked purposely towards her and told her that it was nothing. Mallory stood in the background like a statue, yet avoiding Ginny's gaze. Ginny smacked Harry straight across the face and ran downstairs, sobbing hysterically. Before her mother could even inquire as to why she was acting the way she was, Ginny floo'd back to Grimmauld Place.

Tears started rolling off the sides of Ginny's face at the memory. She learned not too soon after that that Harry and Mallory have been at it even _before_ he and Ginny became an item. Ginny felt so completely sorry for herself. She couldn't bear to look at him before school started up again. She had holed herself up in her room and Hermione had offered to pick up her school things for her. When Ginny had tried talking to the bushy-haired girl about it, all she could say was to 'forget about him and move on.'

Yeah. Right.

Ginny sat up and fiercely scrubbed the tears from her eyes, telling herself that this was no way to behave. She needed to be stronger. She constantly berated herself for the way she acted, everything she did, how she looked, etc. She used to be so full of energy, a fun-loving spirit that would never let anything get her down. She was the only one in her family that preferred playing Quidditch in the rain. She was the most optimistic person anyone close to her now. And that came crumbling down because of one stupid guy.

She stared out the window for about 20 minutes until she heard the compartment door slide open again. She huffed loudly, and turned to see Hermione standing there timidly. "Erm, Gin? Are you okay? I mean, you're all by yourself, and I wondered if you wanted somebody to talk to?"

Ginny snapped back without remorse. "Oh, gee, Hermione. I didn't know you cared. After the way you harshly told me to just 'get over it' and 'move on.' Great advice on your part, by the way. Really comforting."

Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times before saying, "Ginny, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to believe it. I mean, it's _Harry_! He's one of my best friends and when I heard the accusations, I had no idea what to do!"

"Whatever, Hermione. Now if you don't mind, I'm still trying to pick up shards of my broken heart."

"Ginny, you do not know how sorry I am. I had no idea."

"Hermione, it's okay. No need for you to feel guilty. I guess...I...overreacted. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Gin."

"Hey, aren't you Head Girl this year?"

"Yeah. It's such an honor, really. I get my own private quarters and everything." Suddenly her face fell.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"The Head Boy shares his common room with mine."

"And that would be...?"

"Ferret Boy."

"What?! Draco Malfoy is Head Boy?! Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry!"

"And you damn well should be, insulting your superiors like that," came a drawling tone from the direction of the hallway.

"Malfoy, get out." Ginny didn't even want to battle with him. She had no desire to get all hot and bothered because of the stupid, arrogant Slytherin prick.

"No, I find it rather cozy in here. I think I'll stay."

"Oh, do you think it would be cozier with my foot up your a--"

"Ginny!" Hermione gave her a disapproving look.

"Hermione! Chill out!"

"You should listen to her, Mudblood. You don't want your hair to start radiating electrical currents."

"Malfoy, you shut your arrogant mouth and get _out_ of our compartment." Ginny stared at him in the eyes until he faltered. "That's what I thought."

"You know, Weasel, I should dock points from your House for being so disrespectful." He sneered at her and left the compartment, slamming it shut.

"I really hate that guy." Ginny sighed. Just then she saw Harry and Ron walk by the compartment and Ron nudged Harry when they found who they were looking for. Ginny couldn't decide if they were looking for her or Hermione.

They walked into the compartment and Ginny's heart immediately clenched and she felt her stomach fall into what seemed like a bottomless pit. She turned to the window and stared out at the trees and rolling hills of the English countryside. "Ginny..?" She immediately recognized Harry's voice. "Ginny, can we talk?"

She quickly whipped her head around, a look of hate broiling in her chocolate brown eyes. "Well, certainly you and I have the ability to do so, but it doesn't necessarily mean I _want_ to talk to you." She practically yelled at him. "Which I don't," she added as an afterthought.

"Gin, just listen-"

"No! _You_ listen! You broke my heart into a million pieces! You took away the only good thing that happened to me! I _loved_ you, Harry! I goddamn _loved _you!" She quickly got up and ran from the compartment. She ran down the hallway, not really knowing where she was headed to. Tears were streaming down her face in never-ending waterfalls. She put her hand against a wall and leaned against it, sobs shaking her body. She couldn't handle this. She would never be able to handle talking to him ever again. She was so surprised at her actions, slightly proud of herself for standing up against him. _But that doesn't help, does it? My heart is still hopelessly broken..._

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A/N: woo. I know it's not very long, but i kinda did it on a whim so it may be a little while before i post a second chapter. i have vacation all next week so i'll prolly go braindead in the process of spending so much time on the computer. oh well. reviews please :


	2. Chapter 2

next chapter. word.

Disclaimer: I'm not putting these up for every chapter. this is the second and last time i'm doing it. the only benefits i'm getting is the warm fuzzy feeling i get when i see people have read/reviewed my attempt at a fanfic. woo.

Chapter 2--How's it Gonna Be?

Ginny tried desperately to try and get a carriage by herself to ride up to the castle, but she knew it was impossible. She instead found one with Luna and Neville. Although she wasn't particularly thrilled about it, it was better than being with Harry. Ron hasn't even spoken to her since she found Harry cheating on her, and Ginny has no idea why. Well, she's not going to be the one to break the ice, that's for sure. She sighed exasperatedly once she entered the carriage. Neville kept quiet. _Thank God, too. I'm not in the mood for talking_. Luna did as well. She was too busy reading The Quibbler and didn't even acknowledge Ginny's presence. Neville had at least nodded to her. But the fact that Luna didn't even so much as look up from her magazine to even smile made Ginny feel less and less wanted in this world. _Oh God...this is going to be a long year._ She had no one to turn to. No one to talk to. Well, except for Hermione, but Ginny didn't think she could handle being constantly chipper with the girl around. _Just one of my masks_, Ginny thought to herself.

That's another thing. She's starting to develop certain masks, façades, to hide herself away from all the different people around her. She would be happy around Hermione, completely miserable and mute around her peers that don't really matter, i.e. Luna, Neville, Colin..., and she would be the fiercest thing she could in front of people like Potter and Malfoy. Maybe even her brother, if it called for that.

Ginny jumped out of the carriage once they reached the castle. She raced up the stairs and turned into the Great Hall. She didn't have anyone to sit with, either. She looked for Hermione, but then remembered that she's Head Girl and probably has to help out with some younger kids. She saw Ron and Harry and felt the slightest ounce of remorse. _It's not like it's _my_ fault. I shouldn't feel _anything! She didn't realize how long she must have been standing there, contemplating her situation, because somebody behind her cleared their throat loudly and tapped their foot with utmost annoyance.

Ginny rounded on the intruder to her thoughts and was looking at none other than the very bane of her existence, Draco Malfoy.

"Are you going to get a move on, Weasel? Or stand there all day dreaming about Potter?"

The mention of her 'dreaming about Potter' made her want to break down and cry but she stood her ground. "Malfoy, why don't you take that stupid grin off your face and shove it where the sun don't shine." She offered a tiny, sarcastic smile and walked to the Gryffindor table, several seats away from anyone else. She looked up to see Malfoy glaring at her, but also slightly confused at her behavior and why she sat where she was. He shrugged it off, sneered at her, and walked to the Slytherin table to sit next to his best friend, Blaise Zabini.

"What was that all about, mate?" Blaise asked Draco, obviously concerning the little dispute between him and Ginny.

"What was what all about? She was standing there like an idiot and blocking my way. And quite frankly, I don't like people blocking my way."

Blaise chortled. "You had enough clearance to go in another direction, you know."

Draco gave him a death glare. "What are you? _Defending_ her? Which house are you in, anyway? Nay, which house _should_ you be in?"

"Well, I've always had a thing for Hufflepuffs, but deep down, Gryffindor is where my heart belongs," Blaise offered with a grin.

"You make me sick, Blaise. Completely sick, you know that?"

"I guessed as much," he replied, grinning even broader this time.

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After the Sorting and the Feast, Ginny slowly dragged herself up to the Gryffindor Tower. The only picture in her head was of the comfortable, four-poster bed waiting for her. She smiled slightly at the thought of being all warm and cozy, far off in her dreams, with no burdens or heartaches. She was just beginning to feel maybe a teensy bit happy, when the person she least wanted to see, besides Harry of course, came striding around the corner like he owned the blasted castle. Ginny let out a groan; she wasn't even going to try and avoid the inevitable.

"Hey Weasel, I should dock points for you not being in your common room," Draco Malfoy said with a smirk.

Ginny wanted to smack that smirk off of his face herself. But she wasn't in the mood to argue. "Malfoy, it's not even past curfew. So just, leave me alone. My life's tough enough as it is without you crawling around every damn corner."

"10 points from Gryffindor for your attitude. And speaking of Gryffindor, how's Scar-Head? You still in love with him? You still watch him everywhere he goes? You daydream about him every night and d--"

"ENOUGH! I am _not_ in love with that bastard, now leave me the hell alone! I hate you, Malfoy!!" Ginny turned and ran away from him, crying even though she prayed that he didn't see her let her tears spill down her cheeks.

Draco, on the other hand, was a bit shell-shocked by her reaction. _So Potty's a bastard to _her_ now? Hmm, maybe people in Gryffindor _do_ have some brains..._

He stalked off without another thought on the subject.

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Ginny choked out the password to the Fat Lady portrait, "shiny snitches." That was this year's password, and Ginny thought it was the lamest thing anyone with an excuse for a brain has ever come up with.

She ran into the common room and towards the stairs to her dorm when a hand reached out and grab her. She looked up to see Harry holding on to her, trying to figure out what's wrong, and he inquired her about it.

"I hate you, Harry. Let me go," Ginny hissed. He obliged with an almost pained look in his eyes. _Good_, she thought,_ now he knows what it feels like to be hurt the way I was. Maybe not so much, but at least he's hurting_. Ginny quickly pushed away the morbid thought and flopped down onto her bed. Sleep was no where near her now. She was overwhelmed with depressed feelings. She walked to the bathroom.

She turned on the light, cursing it's brightness. She closed the door and just stared. She stared at herself in the mirror, trying to find an ounce of hope that she wasn't completely worthless. Nothing. She could find absolutely nothing desirable about her. She thought her hair was embarassing; her eyes an ugly color; her freckles were like a burden. She tried to smile at herself. Even her smile wasn't appealing. She laughed and listened to the sound--she thought it was like nails on a chalkboard. Ginny knew in the back of her mind she wasn't going to do anything irrational and do something stupid, something _suicidal_. No, she just knew that she had to fix her appearance her own way. Starting with her body.

She took off her shirt. She stared at herself in the mirror wearing only a bra. She pinched and poked at her abdomen. _I'm so fat...no wonder Harry rejected me..._ A silent tear slipped down her cheek. _That's it. I'm not going to eat anymore, not one thing. Guys don't like girls who stuff their faces._

Ginny was, in fact, being _completely_ irrational. She had a flat stomach, maybe just the tiniest bit of baby fat. And it wasn't like it was unattractive; that thing seems almost cute to some guys. No guy wants a rail-thin anorexic girl. But Ginny's mind was made up. She was going to starve herself.

Ginny went to bed rather content, despite the fact that she would be destroying herself. She felt that she finally had a plan as to how she was going to survive this year. She hoped she could get a new love interest, one to keep her mind off of Harry. She had seen this cute seventh year sitting at the Ravenclaw table looking her way. She didn't know his name, but she knew only time would tell.

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Ginny woke up bright and early, before anyone else in her dormitory. She showered, got dressed, and dried her hair with a spell before heading down to breakfast, even though she knew she wouldn't eat anything. _Maybe a small piece of fruit wouldn't hurt..._ She sighed. _We all have to make sacrifices, Ginevra. You _know_ you won't regret this_.

She walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat herself a few seats down from a few of the other early birds. She turned around casually and saw the Ravenclaw boy, smiling at her. She smiled back, actually feeling good about herself. She turned around after another few seconds of staring and glanced at all the food in front of her. She grabbed a pear and cut a very small slice off of it and nibbled on it contentedly. She downed it with a small glass of water and wiped her face with a napkin.

Ginny saw Professor McGonogall come around with the schedules. Ginny groaned when she looked at her schedule. She had double Potions first thing that morning. Then she noticed something very peculiar; it appeared that 6th and 7th year Potions had been combined into one class. Ginny thumped her head on the table. She had Potions with _Slytherins_ first. "This is going to be the worst year of my life."

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A/N--not too great of a chapter, but i try. next one should be better, i'm hoping. it'll prolly be updated later today or tomorrow, depending on if i want to do my homework or not. oh well. please review :D


	3. Chapter 3

hurr it goes, mo' foes :D. i guess i shoulda said earlier that this doesn't go along with HBP...my bad...

Chapter 3--Anger Never Gets You Anywhere

Ginny entered the dungeons with a nagging at the back of her head about the new Potions class. She walked into the classroom and took a seat at the very back and sat there staring out into space. The class filed in, many of the students with confused expressions as to why the classes were combined. A few moments later when the classroom was filled, Snape glided in, with his usual sour expression in place. "Quiet down, class. I know you're all extremely curious as to why the classes were mixed. But you may notice, that some of your classmates are, in fact, missing. This is because this is the higher Potions class, _elite_ if you will."

Ginny stared at him in disbelief. She didn't think she was that good at Potions. _I'm not good at _anything!_ Let alone Potions!_

Snape continued in his monotonous voice, "Now, the number of sixth- and seventh-year students here is even, so each sixth-year will pair up with a seventh-year for the first semester, to get acquainted to the difficult challenges that await this year in Potions." Ginny immediately searched around for Hermione, and saw that the girl was staring back at her. They locked eyes and made a silent agreement that they would be partners. Ginny picked up her things and shuffled over to Hermione. Snape came around to check on the partnerships. He paused at Hermione and Ginny, raised his eyebrows in slight approval, and moved on.

"Phew. I was afraid he might split us up!" Hermione said, obviously relieved.

"Yeah, that would have been horrible. Imagine being paired up with a Slytherin! Ugh!" Ginny proclaimed with disgust. Just then, her stomach grumbled loudly and Hermione gave her an odd look. "What? I just didn't have much of a breakfast this morning."

"Haha, it's okay, Gin." Hermione smiled at her and Ginny smiled back.

Snape cleared his throat loudly. "Now that appropriate pairings are all set, this is your assignment." He flicked his wand, the blackboard immediately covered in the familiar scrawl. "Get to work. This is a test to see if your pairings are satisfactory. Some adjustments may need to be made."

Hermione got up to gather the ingredients for the highly difficult potion. Ginny copied down the instructions off the board for the Detoxifying Solution. She highly assumed it was for removal of poisons, hence its name. Hermione got back to the table and they immediately got to work. The potion called for roots that were double-diced, whatever that meant. Hermione just gave Ginny the roots and told her to dice them and she would dice them again after Ginny did it. They finished preparing their ingredients and started the combining process.

A long hour later, the potion was a jade green, the exact color it was supposed to be. Satisfied, Ginny carried a vial of the potion up to Snape's desk with her and Hermione's names on it. On her way to his desk, she bumped into Malfoy and dropped the bottle. "Malfoy! Watch where you're going!" She screamed at him.

"Miss Weasley! Is there a reason why you're yelling?" He then spotted the mess on the floor, and rolled her eyes. "Clean it up, Miss Weasley. And you should watch your temper. Five points from Gryffindor."

Ginny huffed in annoyance and crouched down to pick up the broken glass. She picked up a rather large shard. It was slippery from the potion, resulting in it slipping through her fingers and cutting her hand open. Ginny moaned in pain, trying to stop the cut from bleeding. "Professor, I cut my hand."

"Not very _graceful_ are we, Weasel? First you rudely bump into me, then you cut your hand. Maybe it's from living in such a crooked house, if you can even call it a house." Draco smirked at her in feat.

"_Malfoy_! I'm about two seconds away from--"

"Enough, you two. Now Master Malfoy, would be so kind as to take Miss Weasley to the Hospital Wing? Miss Granger, come finish cleaning this mess and get another bottle for your potion." Hermione obliged while Ginny gave her an exasperated look. Ginny didn't want to have to walk to the Hospital Wing with _Malfoy_. Snape gave her an old piece of cloth to wrap on her hand so she wouldn't bleed all over the halls. Ginny turned on her heel and strode out of the dungeon, Draco close on her trail.

"Weasley! Slow down, will you? I'm not happy about having to take you to the Hospital Wing or anything," Draco called after her. She whipped her head around, glared at him, then continued to walk down the cold, stone hallways.

"You know this is all your fault, Malfoy. _You_ bumped into _me_," she said, without even turning around. Her pace began to pick up as they rounded another corner, all the while she was nursing her hand, trying to keep as much pressure on it as possible.

Malfoy sighed exasperatedly. "You know what, Weasley? You can walk yourself to the Hospital Wing. I'm going back to class." He pivoted and walked in the opposite direction. Ginny didn't even bother to stop or turn around.

Ginny finally reached the Hospital Wing. She walked up to Madame Pomfrey and told her that it was just a small cut. Ginny removed the cloth and grimaced at the wound. Madame Pomfrey mended it quickly and washed off the dry blood. "All right, Miss Weasley, you can return to class, now. You have another 15 minutes or so of class left, so hurry."

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey, and thank you for fixing my hand." Ginny walked out of the Hospital Wing. In a few moments' time, she was back in the dungeons, right outside the classroom. She began to contemplate whether she wanted to go back in or not, eventually deciding to just get the next seven or so minutes over with. She was about to open the door when:

"Ginny!" Ginny turned slowly from the door at the recognition of the voice. She slowly brought her eyes up to meet with that piercing blue stare. It was Mallory. "Ginny, hey, how's it going? I haven't talked to you in a while."

Ginny was astounded at how nonchalant the Hufflepuff girl sounded. She automatically assumed a face of disgust and hatred. "Mallory, what the hell do you want? You know perfectly well why we haven't talked."

"Ginny, look: I'm sorry. I regret what I did to you. Please, you have to believe me," Mallory cried with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Well, I'm sorry, Mallory, because I can't forgive you. Never." Ginny turned away and was about to open the door when she was interrupted again.

"You know, Ginny? Harry was right. You are the most stubborn person on this earth. He also used to say how smart you were, but I guess that's not very true, seeing as how you couldn't figure us out." Mallory smirked slightly. "We had been seeing each other for a few months before he decided to fool around with you as well."

Ginny gave Mallory a glare that could send away a pack of Slytherins with tails between their legs. She was so speechless with anger, the only reaction she could have was to whip out her wand and cast the first jinx that came to mind: her infamous Bat-Bogey Hex. Before Mallory could react, the hex hit her and she instantly started screaming.

Fuming, Ginny put her wand away, but then the hallway filled with the students from the Potions class. "What is the meaning of this, Miss Weasley?" Snape asked her.

Ginny didn't answer; she just glared at him.

"I see. That will be a week of detentions for you, Miss Weasley, starting tonight at nine sharp. And 20 points from Gryffindor. Come on class, no need to stare. Let's go back in. Oh, and will Miss Granger please escort Miss Sinclair to the Hospital Wing?" Hermione nodded and quickly went to Mallory to take her to the Hospital Wing.

Just as Ginny was going to sit in her seat, the class was dismissed. She hurriedly went to her next class, Charms, thinking that there was no way her day could get any worse. She'd lost her temper and it had cost her. _Why is life so unfair? Stupid things are _always_ happening to me! Ugh!_

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A/N: mmkay, so stuff kinda went down with Mallory. I was going to make it a full-blown fist fight, but why do that when you can cast a hex without getting so much as a scratch? Haha, I actually considered making Ginny say 'Accio Voldemort' but that would just be plain weird. Not to mention entertaining :D reviews are appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the long wait. I had vacation last week, and what can I say? I'm lazy. Woo.

Chapter 4—Conversations and Confrontations

Ginny walked out of her final class of the day and straight towards the front doors to sit by the lake. She wished she could stay out on the lush grass and soak her feet in the crystal blue lake for the rest of the evening, but people would eventually question her whereabouts. Ginny smiled, looking out at the grounds with not one soul in sight. As she made her way over to the gargantuan oak tree on the lakeside, Ginny caught a glimpse of Hagrid's hut, and her thoughts were immediately directed towards Harry. She shook her head and continued towards the tree. Ginny was shocked when she saw that her place underneath the tree was occupied. Blaise Zabini was sitting there, looking out on the lake with a content expression.

Ginny made to walk away, when she heard her name. "Hey, Weasley. Why so eager to be off?"

"Hi, uhm, I'm sorry I disturbed you. I'll just go back up to the castle." She turned around again.

"Eh, not so fast, Weasley. There's plenty of room under this tree." Ginny turned back around, with a confused expression. Was a Slytherin just asking her to sit with him? She sighed and walked back to the tree.

She sat down next to Blaise and took in his features, recording them to memory. She couldn't tell how tall he was, because he was sitting down, but if she had to guess it would be somewhere around six foot two. He had an athletic build, although he wasn't on the Quidditch team. His hair was ebony, and came to the nape of his neck in slight waves. His skin was an olive tone and his eyes were dark, dark brown, almost black.

Ginny smiled vaguely at him and redirected her gaze to lake. They sat in a somewhat uncomfortable silence, until Blaise broke it.

"So, what brings you out here?"

"Well, I just wanted some time to unwind before my detention tonight. You saw what happened, didn't you?"

Blaise chuckled. "Yeah, that was ace. What did she do to you, though? Must have been pretty bad."

Ginny bit her lip, trying to decide if she could trust him or not with what had happened to her. He seemed pretty nice, but he was best friends with Draco Malfoy and she didn't want him to know.

"C'mon, Gin, it's okay. You can tell me. What happened?" Ginny looked up at him, slightly surprised at the nickname he used with her.

She made up her mind and huffed. "Okay, you know how I was going out with Har-, _Potter_, last year?" He nodded and she continued, "Well, everyone knows how I've always had a thing for him, so they thought it was about time that we got together. I had never been happier in, I don't know how long. Everything was great. I loved him, and I swore he loved me back. Then one day at the Burrow last year, I caught him…" Ginny stopped, unable to continue. Tears were forming in her eyes, but she didn't even try to stop them.

"Caught him…what? Ginny, please tell me. It's okay," Blaise encouraged her. Ginny was still slightly confused at this sentimental Slytherin's attitude.

"I caught him…cheating on me. With my best friend Mallory, the one I hexed earlier." Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now and landing on her lap. "I just don't know what to do to get over him, you know? I mean, he hurt me so bad. I've never been that hurt before in my life, I felt as if my heart was literally ripped apart like how a lion rips apart a zebra. And I can't even talk to him. My own brother won't even talk to me. Blaise, I-I just don't know what to do!" Ginny was sobbing openly now.

Blaise wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I-I don't know what to say, Gin. That's horrible. But you're strong, and you'll make it through this."

"How do you know?"

"Because you're a Gryffindor. It's as simple as that." He smiled at her and she tried to smile back.

"Thanks, Blaise. So does this mean that we're uhm, like friends now?"

"Yes, it does. You can tell me anything. I'm the best at keeping secrets."

"Thanks. This means a lot to me." Ginny stood up and offered her hand to Blaise to help him up, and he took it.

They walked back across the grounds and into the castle. As Ginny made her way to Gryffindor tower, Blaise stopped her. "Aren't you going to dinner?"

"Uhm, no, I'm not that hungry. Big lunch, you know? Maybe I'll go down to the kitchen later to get a snack."

Blaise looked at her suspiciously. "Okay, Gin. See you later."

"See you, Blaise."

As Blaise walked to the Great Hall, one thought floated in his mind. _Ginny wasn't at lunch today…_ He shrugged it off and walked to the Slytherin table and plopped down next to Draco.

"Zabini, where have you been?" Draco asked as his best bud sat down.

"Out by the lake, just talking to a friend."

"Who?" As Blaise was reaching for a roll, he stopped, deciding whether or not he should say who exactly he had been comforting at the lakeside earlier.

"Uhm…Ginny Weasley," Blaise answered awkwardly as he reached for the roll again, picked it up, and began spreading butter on it.

Draco nearly choked on his pumpkin juice. "_Weasley_?! Why were you talking to her, of all people?" He asked incredulously.

Blaise looked at him. "She's not that bad, you know. And she has it pretty rough. Not to mention she's gorgeous."

"Gorgeous? Have you gone mad? Blaise, I suggest you see Madame Pomfrey immediately."

"Draco, you can't be serious. She is rather good looking. Admit it."

"No, that's ridiculous." _Although_, Draco thought to himself,_ she isn't that hard on the eyes_. Draco mentally slapped himself. _C'mon this is _Weasley_ you're thinking about_! "So, Blaise, why exactly does the littlest Weasley have it as rough as you say?"

"You'll just have to find out for yourself." Blaise excused himself from the table, and Draco watched his back with a look of confusion and curiosity.

Ginny walked into the Gryffindor Common Room, running through her conversation with Blaise in her mind. _Who knew a Slytherin could be so…well…sweet, almost. Let alone a guy. I wish all guys could be that nice_. She walked over to the couch in front of the fire and saw her brother sitting there. As she drew near, he looked up at her. He patted the couch next to him, inviting her to sit down, which she did, a bit tentatively.

"Hey Gin. So, how's it going?" Ron asked her a bit awkwardly.

"Well, considering the fact that my own brother has been ignoring me, I'd say that life is just smashing," she answered, sarcasm dripping off each word.

"Gin, look. I'm sorry. It's just that, Harry's my best mate and—"

"And I'm your sister! Your _only_ sister! Your family, flesh and blood, all that! And all you can say is 'Harry is my best mate.' Ron, that's not fair, and you _know_ it." Ginny's face was flushed with anger and she was breathing deeply.

"Ginny, I'm sorry! Honestly, what he did to you was wrong, and I regret not doing anything about it. I should have been there for you. I'm a horrible brother and I know it. I just, didn't know what to do. This whole thing was hard for me too."

"Ron, you're not a horrible brother. I'm sorry for yelling at you. You're not a horrible brother. If you and Hermione were dating and she cheated on you, I'd be in a tough situation also. I'm sorry I didn't understand." She reached over and hugged her brother, which he returned eagerly.

"Gin, I don't want to push it or anything, but are you ever going to talk to Harry? I mean, about this whole thing?"

"I don't know, Ron. I honestly don't know." Ginny got up and headed for her dorm, then changed direction. "Ron, I'm going to the library." She walked out of the portrait hole, feeling that this day was not as dreary as the ones previous to it.

Ginny entered the library and headed for a table in the far corner, away from a lot of the other students who were reading and studying. She dropped her bag on the table and jumped when she saw that the table was occupied. It was the Ravenclaw boy who was smiling at her in the Great Hall before.

"Hey, sorry I interrupted your work."

"Oh, it's no problem, none at all." He smiled up at her. "My name's Logan Harvey."

"Hey, Logan. I'm Ginny Weasley." She smiled back at him. He was a cute guy. He had blonde hair that came straight down past his ears and an odd shade of blue eyes; like bluish-gray. He had an adorable smile, as well. Ginny was simply attracted to him.

"I don't want to sound forward, or weird, but has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"

Ginny blushed and felt extremely self-conscious. "No, never."

Logan immediately took on a face of shock. "Are you serious? That should be an offense! You are absolutely gorgeous, Ginny Weasley, and no one better say otherwise."

"Thanks, Logan. You're not so bad looking yourself." _Yeah, this day was _definitely_ getting better_. She sat down and took out her Charms homework.

"So, Ginny. The first Hogsmeade weekend is in a couple of weeks. How would you like to go with me? I'd really like to get to know you better."

"I'd love that, Logan. I'd like to get to know you, too. Oh, shoot. It's 8:30. I have a detention tonight at 9. I'll see you around Logan." Ginny got up from her seat at the table and walked away.

"Bye, Ginny." She flashed a last smile at him before going around the bookshelf.

Ginny sighed happily as she left the library. As she rounded a corridor, her happiness was swept into an abyss of despair. Harry was about two feet away from her. Ginny looked to the ground and tried to just walk around him, forget that she even saw him. No such luck.

"Ginny," Harry called her as he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him. "C'mon, Gin, just talk to me."

"Harry, I have nothing to say to you. Please let me go." Ginny tried to stay as calm as possible throughout the encounter.

"Ginny, come on. I'm sorry, okay? Please forgive me."

"Harry, we both know that that'll never happen. Now let me go, or I yell."

"Gin-"

"One…" Ginny warned him.

"C'mon, let's just talk—"

"Two…"

"I'm sorry, Gin—"

"THREE! Harry you let me go right now! HARRY!" Ginny yelled as loud as she could, hoping someone would come and get this delusional boy away from her. There was no way in Heaven or Hell that she would forgive him. Then, Ginny heard footsteps.

"What is going on?" Ginny right away recognized the bored and lazy tone of none other than Draco Malfoy, and she huffed in annoyance.

"Potter won't let me go. I have a detention in five minutes and if he doesn't let me go then I'm going to get into trouble."

"Well, well, well. Weasel, you weren't lying when you said he was a bastard, eh?" He raised an inquisitive eyebrow in her direction.

Ginny scowled at him. "I don't lie. Ever. This means that I'm telling the truth in saying," she directed her gaze to Harry, "that I will never forgive you. So step off!"

Harry let go of her shoulder and she walked away towards the dungeons, to serve her detention with Snape. _Well, this day went slightly downhill..._

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A/N: woo. This chapter's kinda longer than the rest. I'll be honest and say I have no idea where this story is going, just kinda wingin' it. Reviews make me happy :D


	5. Chapter 5

A/N—well, here's chapter 5. Celebrate. Be happy :D

Chapter 5—Detention with an Unexpected Guest

Ginny continued walking down the hallway, still annoyed at the confrontation with Harry, not to mention Malfoy. Where did Harry get off thinking that she'd forgive him? He'd done the lowest, most unforgiveable thing (besides _Avada Kedavra_ of course) and he expected her to forget about it.

She turned the corner and soon heard her name, well, _surname_, being shouted. "Hey, Weasley. Wait." Ginny spun around and saw Malfoy slightly jogging towards her.

Confused, she asked, "What do you want, Malfoy? I'm late enough for detention as it is." It was 9:05.

"Snape had asked me to supervise your detentions this week," Malfoy informed her. "I, for one, think the idea is utterly disgraceful and I cannot wait for this week to be over."

Ginny was still in shock. "You?! Supervise?! Oh my God, this can't be happening!" Ginny continued in a fast pace towards the classroom. _Why does everything happen to me? If this is Fate, then damn it all to Hell_. She threw open the classroom door and stalked to the front of the room. "So, what do I have to do?" She tried to stay as calm and resolute as possible, but with her temper, that mellow attitude would melt away in a matter of moments.

"Well, Weaselette, you can start by shining my shoes and doing my laundry. Then, maybe you could clean up the Head Boy dorms. If you do well enough, you can consider a career in being a maid. Of course, you could never work at Malfoy Manor, but you could start with that pathetic excuse of a house you have dubbed, 'The Burrow.'"

And there it went. The calmness was gone. He was like a full moon that pulled at the tides that were her temperament. A nice, smooth-surfaced sea went to a raging, foaming ocean. Ginny's face turned red with anger. "Malfoy! I would never _ever_ come near you with a ten-foot pole, so forget you and your stupid shoes! And I would never go near where you live either, because it would probably be filled with the same evil haze that surrounds you. And why would I ever want to go to the Malfoy Manor? I might as well ask for a death wish! So, how many Death Eaters hang around your place? You got your initiation all set up? I'm sure your father must be so proud. Following in his footsteps of becoming a damned Hell raiser. How…_admirable_." She spit the last word out. Ginny hadn't noticed that at the term 'Death Eater,' Draco had tensed up and his eyes hardened. He slowly stalked towards her, all the while she was breathing in and out deeply from her tirade.

He stopped just inches from her face. "Don't you ever say a word about my father again. And don't you ever say anything about Death Eaters. I would never _ever_ follow in my father's footsteps. Though, I shouldn't care what a dumb, poor, little girl cares. You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand."

Ginny stared at him. That's the second time he's shocked her this evening. "Look, I'm sorry," _did I just apologize_? "That was out of line. I'm just so….stressed lately. Not that you care. I'll shut my mouth and serve my detention if you promise to shut yours."

"Deal." Draco walked away from her. He's been stressed lately as well; pressure from his father to join him, not to mention Voldemort on his case as well. This was Draco's final year, and he wanted to enjoy it. "Just, reorganize the ingredients in the cabinet, by alphabet or something. I don't know."

Ginny nodded and made her way to the cabinet. She pulled the small vials and bottles out of the cabinet and placed them on a nearby table, with all the labels facing the same direction. Draco just sat down at Snape's desk and put his head in his hands. Ginny was about to ask him what was wrong, but then remembered their deal about shutting up. She grabbed ingredients at random and looked at the letter they began with.

Sooner than she had imagined, her task was finished. Ginny glanced at her watch; it was 10:30. She was relieved to see that she had time to do some homework before she turned in for the night. Ginny looked up at Malfoy and saw that he was just sitting there, staring off into space.

"Malfoy?" She asked him tentatively. He instantly broke out of his reverie and turned to look at her. "I'm all done, so, I'm going."

"Whatever, Weasel." Draco turned back to the corner he was previously preoccupying himself with and spaced out once again.

Ginny walked out of the door and into the drafty hallway. She slowly made her way back to Gryffindor tower. After she said the incredibly lame password, the portrait swung open and she walked into the common room. She deeply desired to just sleep in front of the fire, but the burden of a pile of homework nagged at the back of her mind. _Well, five minutes wouldn't hurt_...Ginny was about to sit on the hearth rug when a voice spoke up.

"Uhm, Gin? This came for you earlier." Ginny turned around to see Colin sitting there, holding a letter in his hand. "I was wondering why the owl didn't just deliver it to you, but I realized they probably don't go into the dungeons."

"Oh, uh, thanks Colin." Ginny smiled weakly and took the letter from Colin's hands, extremely curious as to who had written to her. _Ginevra Weasley_ was printed on the envelope in fancy writing with bronze ink. She ripped open the envelope read the letter.

_Hey Beautiful—_

_I'm really excited to have talked to you earlier. It has only been a few hours since I saw you last, but I miss your smile and your presence overall. I can't wait until we go to Hogsmeade together. You seem like a great person to get to know._

_Also, will you meet me in the library tomorrow after dinner? The table at the back._

_Love,_

_Logan_

Ginny read the letter over and over again, thoroughly shocked that a boy had any ounce of interest in her. _Hey Beautiful_…_well, that's different. The only other person to call me beautiful was…Potter_. Ginny absolutely refused to use his first name; it gave him too much respect for her liking. She clutched the letter to her heart and walked up to her dormitory, absolutely refusing to do homework. She was in too much of a good mood. _Well, I suppose Logan can help me with it tomorrow in the library. He is a seventh year after all_.

The next morning, Ginny woke up very early. She wanted to make it to breakfast as soon as possible to see Logan and thank him for the wonderful letter. Ginny hopped out of bed and showered quickly. People seemed to notice the bounce in her step as she walked out of the common room. Her attitude was very different compared to the one she had maintained the day before.

Ginny's eyes immediately locked with Logan's as she entered the Great Hall. As Ginny walked over to him, his eyes lit up and he smiled widely. "Hey Logan, thanks for that letter. Really boosted my self-esteem."

"What? You shouldn't have any reason for your self-esteem to be low. You're smart (I assume, I don't know you quite well), you're beautiful, and I'm also supposing you're nice as well."

"Well, two out of three ain't bad." Ginny suddenly felt slightly awkward at all the compliments but the feeling washed away quickly.

"How would you like to have breakfast with me this fine morning?" Logan asked her, a twinkle in his eye.

"I'd love to." Ginny sat down next to him at the Ravenclaw table and received a few strange looks from Ravenclaws and fellow Gryffindors at the next table over.

They ate in compatible silence. Well, at least Logan ate. Ginny picked up a muffin and took off tiny bites every now and then. She was still on this whole fasting idea. Logan noticed this, and spoke up on it.

"Ginny, are you all right? You're not eating much." Logan's face held a look of concern for the girl sitting next to him.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just not too hungry, is all. It's weird, you know, I pigged out at dinner last night, and I still feel full." Ginny laughed awkwardly, hoping he wouldn't see right through her lie. She hated lying to him, but she felt the need to do so.

"Sure, okay, Gin. Although, I don't know what you mean. But hey, everyone's different, right?"

"Yeah, right." Ginny smiled back up at him and he returned the look.

What Ginny didn't know is that this conversation didn't go unheard. Blaise Zabini had just walked by the table and he had his eyes on her back. He heard the whole thing, knowing that she had skipped dinner the previous night. He was going to confront her on it, then thought better of it. He didn't want to put their newly founded friendship in jeopardy. Not just yet.

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A/N: woo, the plot is...thickening? sure, i guess so. well we know there will be some more confrontation next chappie with Blaise and stuff. okay...

conducts hypnosis ritual thing

_review...review...review_

claps hands

hmm..what shall the reader do now?


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm super pumped right about now. Don't ask why, seeing as it's a Monday and I'm running on 4 hours of sleep. YAY! Also, this past Friday I was very fortunate to see the movie 300. If anyone has the means of going to see it ('tis rated RRRR) I suggest you do so right this minute. The Phantom from Phantom of the Opera is in it and it equals hotness. :D

Chapter 6—Oh, the Drama

Ginny finished her classes for the day with a light feeling. Logan had obviously taken a liking to her, and Potter hadn't bothered her once today. In addition to her elation, she also had light-headedness, because of the lack of food for the past two days. She had skipped lunch altogether, instead sitting out by her favorite oak tree and skipping rocks. No one seemed to have noticed her disappearance, except for one dark-haired Slytherin.

Although Blaise suspected something was up with Ginny, he didn't want to confront her just yet because of their new friendship. He didn't have a lot of close friends, nay, he had none. Except for Malfoy, of course. But then again, Draco didn't know a lot of the things Blaise had hidden from the rest of the world.

Ginny decided that she might as well make an appearance at dinner so Logan wouldn't be worried about her. She smiled radiantly at him as she walked into the Great Hall and sat down next to Colin at the Gryffindor table. Ginny tried desperately to ignore the enticing aromas of the foods around her, and was successful. She ignored all the steaks and potatoes, and grabbed just a roll with a tiny slab of butter.

"Ginny, you weren't at lunch today. You must be starving! Yet you're eating only a roll." Colin looked at her with a clearly confused expression on his face.

"Oh, Colin, don't be silly. I had some work to catch up on so I went to the kitchen and got a huge sandwich and some dessert. I should be fine, no worries." Ginny smiled at him convincingly and he nodded in agreement at her fib. "Well, I'm done. I'll see you later, Colin."

It's strange, how quickly one's mood can change. Ginny went from being completely miserable and intolerable of everyone around her, to completely chipper and polite. She decided that she had to make the best of this year, and it wouldn't be her best if she was moping about half the time, well, _all _the time.

Ginny started for the Gryffindor tower, and then remembered her date in the library with Logan. She smiled to herself and quickened her pace to the library. As she passed the many shelves of books, she saw that the library was surprisingly empty. Soon, she heard a voice.

"Hey, Gin. I'm over here." Ginny spun around and saw Logan smiling brightly up at her. "Get lost?"

"Oh, hey Logan. No, I was just looking for where you were." Ginny sat down next to him and smiled. "I don't want to sound rude, but are you relatively smart?"

"Well, I did pass all my O.W.Ls in flying colors. Why do you ask?"

"I just need some help with my homework. Complete overload." Ginny was smart, very intelligent, actually, but when she was overwhelmed with homework, her mind seemed to become completely foggy.

"Okay, no problem. Hey, did you hear? According to Dumbledore, this weekend's supposed to be extremely beautiful, so we get to go to Hogsmeade. That means we can go together, just a bit sooner than we had planned." He winked at her and she grinned.

"That sounds wonderful, Logan. Now, I have to write this essay for Charms about this…charm…obviously. It's called the Tacarechise charm. Now, if I had been paying attention, I would know what the heck it does."

"It basically causes you to smile uncontrollably, although it tends to get a bit creepy. Now, the incantation is _Tacarecho_. It's a bit difficult to master, but it's worth it in the end."

"Uhm, no offense, but how the heck is it worth it? I don't see how being able to smile freakishly is…satisfying." Ginny looked absolutely confused. Logan thought, _she looks so cute when she's confused..._

"Well, you could always cast it on a Slytherin during Potions and see how Snape reacts. I think he actually has a phobia of smiling."

"Ha-ha, I'll have to try that out on Malfoy." Ginny continued to laugh lightly until she heard another familiar voice behind her.

"Try _what_, Weasley? You know, you're late for your detention." Malfoy-_he just seems to pop up everywhere, doesn't he_?-was standing behind her, leaning against a bookshelf with his arms and ankles crossed, a smirk firmly in place.

"Nothing, Malfoy. I'll be there in a few minutes, just go on ahead."

"No, Weasley. You're coming with me now, whether you like it or not. It's bad enough I have to supervise your detentions, I also have to fetch you when you refuse to show up on time." There was a slightly dangerous look in his eyes as he leaned forward and grabbed Ginny's wrist.

"Ouch, Malfoy! Let me go!" Ginny tried desperately to get out of his grip, but he was too strong.

"Let her go, Malfoy. I believe she said that she would be there in a few minutes." Logan had stepped in to intervene. Malfoy still had not let go of her hand. "I said, _let her go_."

"Why should I listen to you? But wait, I believe the million-Galleon question here is why in the world are you hanging around scum like _Weasley_?" Malfoy drawled, her surname being punctuated with a tug on her wrist.

Ginny stared on with tears in her eyes. Malfoy was really hurting her wrist and he had just insulted her. She didn't want them to fight, so she took matters into her own hands…er, feet.

Just then, Ginny whirled around and kicked Malfoy hard, in the kneecap. He immediately let go of her wrist as he howled in pain. Ginny quickly gathered her things and gave Logan a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Logan." Before he could reply, she dashed out of the library, straight towards the dungeons.

Not long after she made it to Snape's dreary classroom, Malfoy stomped in with a murderous look on his face. He looked like he was struggling to find words to describe his malice. "You. A Weasley _never_ hits a Malfoy._ Nobody_ hits a Malfoy. You're going to pay for that."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? I guess I'm nobody then." Ginny turned around and sat on the top of a table and crossed her arms. _Maybe I shouldn't be acting so…nonchalantly…he looks ready to kill_. Ginny shrugged off the thought. "So, what do I have to do this fine, fine evening?"

Malfoy was shaking with rage. _Well, she's got spunk, I'll give her that. But she kicked me! _Nobody_ kicks me!_ Malfoy finally stopped shaking and his cheeks went from the abnormal rosy shade to the familiar, pale color it always is. It seemed as if he had learned to control his emotions.

Ginny sat there patiently, waiting for her punishment.

Malfoy sighed exasperatedly. "Just, clean the tables off. They look kind of grimy." With that, he turned and walked to Snape's desk and sat down, once again putting his head in his hands. _Why couldn't I yell at her? What's going on with me? Stupid Blaise. He said 'her life is rough.' Then, what should I care? I'm curious, no doubt, but…ugh. I'll just forget about it_.

Malfoy didn't notice Ginny staring at him curiously, with a hint of concern. "Malfoy, are you okay?"

"I could ask you the same question." Malfoy let the question slip before thinking about what he was asking.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny was silently praying that Blaise didn't tell him about their talk the day before.

"I'm just going to say it because it is bugging me to no end. I can't even _yell_ at you for Merlin's sake. Blaise told me that you had a rough life. So I'm going easy on you. Have a problem with that?"

Ginny was speechless. She opened and closed her mouth dumbly a few times before asking, "Well, no it's not. But why should you care about what's going on in my life? You don't give a damn about me."

Malfoy just shook his head and didn't say another word. _She's right. Why should I care? Maybe because I saw the look of complete melancholy in her eyes that first night back…_

Ginny rolled her eyes and began scrubbing the tables.

The rest of the week passed by quickly for Ginny. All of her detentions went by with little to no talking between her and Malfoy. Ginny was starting to become more and more exhausted, no matter how much she slept. However, it had nothing to do with sleep. Her extreme lack of food left her with hardly any energy. Somehow she managed to make it through the days.

Ginny woke up Saturday morning, positively excited at being able to spend a beautiful day in Hogsmeade with Logan. She walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. As she inspected herself in the mirror, she noticed a slight change in appearance. She felt that she looked a tad bit thinner. _Not thin enough_, she thought bitterly.

After drying her hair, Ginny went to look for an outfit to wear. It was still late summer, so she needn't wear a sweater or a cloak. She ended up choosing a pair of jeans and an emerald green ¾-sleeve shirt that had gold ivy embroidered just underneath the bust line. She wanted to look nice, yet casual at the same time. The jeans fit her wonderfully, unlike the ones that she had been given by her brothers. Ginny had saved up money to buy something that actually looked good on her.

Ginny gave herself a final once over, w_ell, this is as good as it's going to get_, and left the dormitory. Ron appeared to have been waiting for her in the Common Room. "Hey, Ron. What are you up to?"

"Oh, nothing. I was waiting for Hermione, actually. You look nice, going to Hogsmeade with someone?"

"Yeah. Hey, that's really nice that you and Hermione finally got over each other and are going out."

"We're not _going out_, Ginny. Don't change the subject. Who are you going to Hogsmeade _with_?"

"Uhm, Logan Harvey, he's in Raven-" Ron cut her off.

"I know bloody well who he is. You stay away from him, Ginny. He's bad news, I'm serious."A look of anger mixed with concern was swimming in his eyes.

Ginny looked at him with scorn. "Ronald! You do _not_ get to tell me who and who not to go out with. Now if you'll excuse me, Logan's waiting." Without waiting for Ron's rebuttal, she stormed from the Common Room.

She found Logan waiting for her in the Entrance Hall. He was wearing jeans with a simple navy blue tee that brought out the color in his eyes.

"Hey Logan," Ginny said as she walked up to him.

"Hey." He bent down and brushed his lips against hers. Ginny blushed slightly. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were not far from the couple and watched the scene with mixed emotions.

"That should be a crime. I've never seen something so disgusting in my entire life." Obviously, Malfoy's point of view.

"Oh, come on Draco. She's happy. What do you care anyway?"

"Because I feel sorry for the bloke. Hopefully he won't catch any sort of diseases or anything. Sickening, that was."

"Chill out, will you? She's my friend, so stop insulting her."

"Your _friend_?! You talked to her once!"

"Yeah, but it was that one talk that led to our friendship. She told me things…"

"Oh, is this how her life is oh so rough?"

"Yes, indeed it is. Now lay off."

Up ahead, Ginny and Logan were talking animatedly about Quidditch. "I absolutely _love_ playing Quidditch. Especially in the rain."

"In the rain?" Logan asked. "Why?"

"I don't know. I just love being in the rain overall, actually. It just makes me feel so calm, like all my troubles are being washed away."

"Troubles? What troubles could you possibly have?"

"Hey, I have a great idea!" Ginny easily diverted from the topic of conversation; she didn't exactly want to talk about her Potter situation to him.

Logan sighed. "What's that?"

"How about we race the rest of the way to Hogsmeade?" Ginny's eyes held a complete look of excitement and Logan just couldn't say no to those beautiful eyes.

"Okay, but no crying when I beat you, yeah?"

"Oh please! Okay. On your mark, get set, GO!" Ginny immediately sped ahead, with Logan not too far behind. They both played on their respective Quidditch teams and were in excellent shape. Well, Ginny _was_…

They ran full out until they were just outside the entrance to Hogsmeade. Ginny started to feel very, very faint. She hyperventilated, terrified at what was going on. She blinked furiously, but she couldn't stop as she began fading in and out of consciousness. Eventually, her whole world went black and she collapsed onto the trail.

"Ginny! Ginny! Are you okay? Ginny, please, wake up!" Logan had immediately stopped when he didn't hear her footsteps anymore (he was ahead) and started to panic when he saw that she had collapsed. He crouched down next to her and cradled her in his lap.

Logan heard two more pairs of feet come up behind him. He whirled around and immediately recognized Blaise Zabini with Draco Malfoy right behind. Blaise had seen the whole scene and panicked as well when he saw Ginny collapse to the ground.

"What happened?" Blaise asked Logan.

" I don't know, she suggested we race-"

"We gathered that much, thanks, though." Malfoy interrupted him. He seemed to be actually concerned for Ginny.

"Anyway, we were racing, and then I didn't hear her footsteps anymore. When I turned around, I saw that she had collapsed. That's all."

Blaise sighed. "I know what happened. She's so…ugh. You're Harvey, correct? Yes, go up to the castle and tell McGonogall. Draco and I will take her to the Hospital Wing."

"Why should I leave her with you two?" Logan didn't trust the two Slytherins as far as he could throw them.

"Because, Harvey, Ginny and I happen to be friends, and this is all for _her_ well-being and I'm telling you right now, she won't be upset if I took her up to the Hospital Wing, so there's no need to worry."

Logan nodded his head uncertainly, "okay, all right. But make sure she's okay." He turned and ran all the way back to Hogwarts.

"Wait, so I have to help you take her up there? Not my fault she passed out."

"Listen, Draco. I need you to do me this favor. Just this once. Just carry her, or levitate her if you're that irritable. I need to get her something." Blaise didn't even wait for his response as he ran down the streets of Hogsmeade.

Malfoy huffed in annoyance and gathered the youngest Weasley in his arms. To him, she felt surprisingly light. Almost too light...

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A/N: well that was a surprisingly long chapter. some D/G interaction. wooo. that tacarechise charm i basically made up. i took the letters of cheshire cat and scrambled them, hence the charm being for smiling creepily. anywho. reviews please :D


	7. Chapter 7

Woo two chapters in two days. I think that's just spectacular. I'd also like to thank my reviewers. It's not a lot, but it still keeps me going :D

Chapter 7—Questions and Answers

Malfoy continued the trek up to the castle with the light girl in his arms. He was trying to figure out what had happened to her; she had just passed out. Blaise had gone off to get something and Logan went to alert Dumbledore what had happened, and Malfoy was stuck with the surprisingly easy task of carrying her up to the Hospital Wing.

He didn't want to sound rude, but he thought that she should way just a little bit more. Malfoy stared down at Ginny Weasley's unconscious face. He noticed that her cheekbones seemed a bit more prominent than they used to and there were slight shadows underneath her eyes. Her freckles were still there, but they seemed to stick out more against her slightly paler skin. He even noticed that her crimson red hair lacked some of its luster. Personally, the hair looked stupid on Ron Weasley. But on Ginny, Malfoy felt that it looked stunning. He would never admit it, of course, especially with Blaise around him almost all the time.

At the Entrance Hall, Malfoy was greeted by none other than the Golden Trio. They all looked at him, and then the girl in his arms. Their already disgusted faces turned livid.

"Malfoy! What do you think you're doing with _my_ sister?!" Ron bellowed.

"Chill out, Weasel. She passed out on the way to Hogsmeade and Blaise told me to bring her to the Hospital." Malfoy's face held no emotion, so it was very difficult to read him if he was lying.

"Wait, you and _Blaise_?! She was hanging out with Zabini?! It's enough that she's hanging out with that Ravenclaw fellow. Now you two! When she wakes up, I'm going to—"

"Ron! You will do no such thing! You don't even know her side of whatever is going on!" Hermione cut him off and yelled at him. Harry still had not said a word; he was just staring at Ginny lying helplessly in Malfoy's arms.

"Well, apparently your sister and Blaise have become friends, so when he saw her pass out, he freaked and made me carry her up here. I don't know where he went, and Logan went to get Dumbledore."

"Hand her over, Malfoy. I don't want your filth all over her." Ron stepped forward to try and pry his sister from the Slytherin's arms.

"No, I won't. Blaise will be furious if I let her out of my sight." With that, Malfoy walked around the three Gryffindors and in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

Hermione kept Ron from running after him. "Ron, don't. You might do something irrational."

"Like what, Hermione. Please, enlighten me." Ron was furious.

"Like if you grab her too hard and she falls. She could get more hurt than she already is. Just…Malfoy won't hurt her. He's not that stupid."

"He better not. I'll kill him if he ever touches my sister again."

With that, the three of them left the Entrance Hall and on their way to Hogsmeade.

Malfoy walked into the Hospital Wing and deposited Ginny on the farthest bed from the door. Madame Pomfrey came bustling out of her office. "What happened here? Master Malfoy, please explain."

Malfoy sighed. "Well, Blaise and I were on our way to Hogsmeade. Weasley here was walking with some fellow from Ravenclaw…Larry or something. Anyways, they were racing or something idiotic like that and she passed out, just like that."

"Just like that, hm? Well, I'll look her over, see what's wrong." Madame Pomfrey went back to her office and retrieved some potions and her wand. Just then, Blaise stormed through the door carrying a small bag.

"Here, Madame Pomfrey. Give her this." Blaise held out what appeared to be a bar of chocolate. As Malfoy read the label, he saw it said _NutroChoc_. He gave Blaise a strange and confused look.

"What in the world is this?"

"Well, it was invented a few decades ago. It's a bar of chocolate, obviously, but it's full of nutrition. You know, protein, vitamins and all that. They were invented for the malnourished folk in villages that had been destroyed with no resources left."

"Why on earth does she need that?" But he already knew the answer. That's why she looked so different, and why she had weighed so light.

"For the past week or so, she's been starving herself." Blaise looked over at Ginny somberly.

Madame Pomfrey gasped. "_Starving_ herself?! Why on earth?! How many of those bars did you buy?"

"Just two, Madame. That should be enough to get her weight up to normal."

Madame Pomfrey woke Ginny up. Ginny blinked around and scrunched up her face from the pain in her head. "Where…where am I?"

"You're in the Hospital Wing, dear. It seems you passed out on your way to Hogsmeade."

"Oh." Ginny looked up and saw Blaise and Malfoy looking down at her. "Hey, where's Logan?"

"He went to get Dumbledore," Blaise answered. "Gin, I know what you've been doing. I thought you were smarter than that."

Ginny looked around worriedly. "Blaise, what are you talking about?" Ginny feigned innocence, but Blaise knew better.

"You've been starving yourself, Ginny. That's why you passed out. Your body had no energy to run on and when you were running, it just couldn't handle it. Madame Pomfrey, give her the chocolate."

"Chocolate? What…Blaise…no—" Madame Pomfrey had stuffed the chocolate bar into her mouth and made Ginny chew it.

After swallowing, Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but Madame Pomfrey seized the opportunity to stuff the other bar into her mouth. Ginny gave her a venomous look and chewed and swallowed obediently.

"As I was trying to say," Ginny pointed a glare at the Mediwitch, "this is utterly ridiculous! I have _not _been starving myself, and I'll thank _you_, " glaring at Blaise this time, "for probably giving me eight pounds I definitely did _not_ need."

"Ginny, that first night we talked, and you skipped both lunch and dinner. How do I know? I didn't see you at lunch and you told me you had a huge lunch, so you didn't go to dinner. And the following morning, you hardly ate your breakfast, saying, 'I think I ate too much last night so I'm still full.'"

"You've been _spying_ on me?!" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Spying, no. Ginny, I've been looking out for you, okay? I thought we were friends and I don't like to see my friends getting hurt, or worse, hurting themselves."

Ginny sighed in defeat. She gave Madame Pomfrey a look meaning that she wanted to talk to Blaise alone. Ginny was going to give the same look to Malfoy, when the doors burst open and Dumbledore, followed by Logan, entered the Hospital Wing.

"Miss Weasley, are you okay?"

"Splendid, Professor." Ginny answered tautly.

"Madame Pomfrey, what seemed to be the problem?"

"Malnourishment, Albus. Or you could call it a slight case of anorexia. Take your pick."

"Anorexia? Isn't that when they starve themselves?"

"Indeed."

"Miss Weasley, may I inquire as to why you would harm yourself this way?"

"Well, Professor, is it okay if I talk to Blaise about it first?"

"Of course, just send for me when you are okay to discuss."

"I will do that, Professor." Professor Dumbledore left the wing.

"Ginny are you okay? I was so worried." Logan walked over and wrapped his arms around Ginny. She saw over Logan's shoulder that Malfoy was still standing there and he rolled his eyes and the embrace Ginny and Logan were sharing.

"I'm fine, Logan. I'll explain everything to you later. I just want to talk to Blaise right now."

"Okay Ginny." Logan bent down and kissed her on the forehead, the little gesture earning a scoff from Malfoy.

"Nobody asked you to stay, Malfoy," Ginny replied to his scoff as Logan closed the door behind him.

"Is that how you thank me, Weasley?"

"Thank you? For what? Being a complete jerk?"

"Ginny," she turned to look at Blaise, "After you passed out, I told Draco to carry you up to the Hospital Wing while I bought the NutroChoc. So I guess you should, you know, thank him." Blaise looked at her uneasily.

Ginny huffed. "Fine. Thanks Malfoy."

"It's not a big deal."

"How could you say that? You carried my sorry ass all the way from Hogsmeade to here, how is that anything _but_ a big deal?" Ginny flushed slightly with embarrassment.

"Easy. Carrying you was like carrying my broomstick. You weighed hardly anything." Ginny's eyes widened. Had she really lost that much weight in the course of one week? "Don't look so surprised, it's the truth."

"Well now you've shocked be into _complete_ oblivion. First off, I know for a fact that I'm not as light as you say. Second, what reason do you have for telling the truth?"

"Ginny, just listen to him. You don't know how horrible you looked before we gave you the NutroChoc. You looked like a zombie. Please, just, explain to me why you did this to yourself."

"I will, after _he_ leaves."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows and left the Hospital without another word. Once out in the hallway, he let his thoughts consume his mind. _Why would she ever do something so _stupid_?! Although, this probably ties into what Blaise said about her having a rough life. I just can't believe it. _Draco was without a doubt curious about what was going on, but he would, once again, never admit it.

Back in the hospital, Ginny had just finished explaining things to Blaise.

"Ginny, why would you ever think yourself fat? You're gorgeous just the way you are. I wish you had known that."

"No, Blaise, no I'm not! You don't understand!" Tears were falling from Ginny's eyes in thick streams. "I'm no perfect! I never will be! Why else would he do that to me?! I'm ugly and fat and stupid and…and…UGH!" Ginny screamed and started sobbing more.

"Ginny! That's not true! I can't believe you would do this to yourself over a stupid guy! It's his loss." Blaise was astounded at her words.

"You've only known me for like, six days, Blaise. You better believe it. I'm such a wreck. You were wrong. I'll _never _get through this!" Ginny put her head in her hands and cried some more.

"Ginny, I'm sorry." He sat down on the bed and put his arm around her shoulders. "I know you must hate hearing it, but you have to move on. You've got that Harvey fellow and he seems to make you happy. I'm not telling you to forgive and forget, but don't let it make you make stupid decisions. Plus, if you did forgive him, I'd send you to St. Mungo's for being absolutely insane." He offered her a slight smile.

Ginny looked up at him with her tear-stained face. "Blaise, I'm the one who should be sorry. You're probably my only friend I can really talk to, and you're right. I can get through this, especially with you at my side." She turned and hugged him, and then heard someone clear a throat.

Ginny and Blaise broke their embrace and she looked up in surprise at Draco. He was looking at the two of them with one eyebrow raised.

"Malfoy. How much did you hear?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"Since 'I'll _never _get through this!'" He quoted perfectly. "I heard yelling, so I came to see what was going on."

"Oh." Ginny fiercely wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thanks again, Blaise. I'm sure you want to go down to lunch or back to Hogsmeade, so I won't keep you from it. I'm just going to go back to my tower." She got up from the bed and went to leave. Stopping, she hesitantly turned around, walked up to Blaise, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, really. You're a great friend." They smiled at each other and Ginny left.

"For Merlin's sake, how many PDA's do I need to see involving _her_ today?" Draco had a look of complete disgust on his face.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Draco. Let's just go back to our Common Room."

"Whatever. What were you guys talking about?" Draco asked in what he hoped was a casual manner. He was curious to no end about the littlest Weasley's troubles.

"Draco, I've told you. I can't tell you. You could find out for yourself if you stop being so damn arrogant."

Draco sighed exasperatedly and continued on his way with Blaise to Slytherin House.

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A/N: Another long one. woooooo. and a bit from draco's perspective. i'll try to put more in ginny's POV next chapter. but maybe i won't put up next chapter until i get a decent amount of reviews. that's right, foos.


	8. Chapter 8

WORD! Three chapters in three days! I'm pretty much a God by now. This scene/chapter whatever was supposed to be in the last one, but the last one went on kinda longer than I though. Oh well. Right now, though, I'd like to personally thank my reviewers.

**Ameera-undomar, AuntAnnie, cinderemma, Southern Charm83** (thanks for all the advice!)**, iluvpuddin, caught in my own world, catnipob, Fallen Roses 07, & Flipinpenname.**

Thank you guys a bunch! On to Chapter Eight: _The Ocho_… (Sorry that was lame; it's from Dodgeball.)

Chapter 8—For a Smile they can Share the Night (Journey lyrics, I know.)

Ginny left the Hospital Wing feeling, slightly better about herself. Blaise turned out to be a great friend and boosted her self-esteem. Her stupid fasting idea took a turn for the worse; the opposite of the results she was expecting. You wouldn't say that Ginny is naive; it's just that she was very upset and her judgment, at the time, was impaired.

She officially decided Potter wasn't worth her time anymore. For friends, she had Hermione, and now Blaise. Ginny laughed lightly. If she had known that after her break-up that she would become good friends with Blaise Zabini, she would think it crazy. He's a Slytherin and Draco Malfoy's best friend. That's another thing Ginny was curious about. Why on earth had Malfoy helped her earlier? And when he was waiting in the Hospital Wing, she did notice that he looked a tad bit concerned; Ginny had caught a fleeting glimpse of worry flicker through his eyes. Ginny was replaying the scenes from earlier in the Hospital when she remembered something: she still had to tell Dumbledore _and_ Logan what had happened. Dumbledore she could handle, but she wasn't sure about Logan. If he knew that Potter was the reason for her fainting spell, then it would look like she wasn't over him.

Ginny walked up to Gryffindor to get her bag and then she was going to head to the library to catch up on some work. Logan and she would usually just talk in the library instead of actually doing work. She had actually learned a lot about him. He was a beater for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Both his parents were very successful Aurors, though his father was killed by a Death Eater. He had a younger sister named Evelyn; she would be starting Hogwarts the next year.

Ginny absolutely loved talking to Logan. They weren't officially in a relationship, but there was enough chemistry between the two for one to form.

Ginny recited the password to the Fat Lady portrait and walked into the Common Room. She was surprised to see Ron, Hermione, and, to her disgust, Potter, sitting around. As soon as she entered, Ron ran over to her.

"Ginny! Are you okay? I was so worried!" Ron hugged her.

"Ron, I'm fine, settle down." Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's behavior.

"Gin, why'd you pass out?" Hermione had come over and asked the million-Galleon question of the day.

"Uhm…" Ginny trailed off._ Should I really tell them? Well, not with Potter around._ She whispered to them, "I'll tell you guys later," giving a pointed glance at Harry, who was sitting there looking like a lonely puppy.

"Oh, okay, Gin." Hermione hugged her. "I'm glad you're okay." Ginny smiled at her.

"Thanks Hermione. Listen, I came back just to grab my bag, and then I was going to the library to do some homework. All right?"

Ginny went up the stairs to her dorm to retrieve her bag. She was just about to close the portrait behind her when a hand stopped her. She looked up and saw Harry, giving her a pleading look.

"Please, Gin. I really need to talk to you." Ginny didn't even give him a response. She just turned on her heel and continued on her way down to the library.

"Potter, not now. I need to do a lot of homework; I need to talk to Dumbledore and Logan, so just…leave me alone. You're not worth my time." _I won't cry…I won't cry…I won't cry…_Ginny silently promised herself.

"Well, can we talk on the way to the library?"

Ginny cast a glare at him. "Fine. Say what you need to, Potter, but I won't make any compromises."

Harry sighed. "Ginny, you don't know how sorry I am. What I did was stupid. You…you're an incredible person, Gin. I should never have let you go."

"You didn't let me go. I let myself go. What you did was not only stupid, it was horrendous. And with my best friend, no less! Do you honestly expect me to forgive you?" Ginny was practically yelling now.

"Ginny, please. I…I can't eat, I can't sleep. Just your forgiveness would mean the world to me."

"And you had once meant the world to me, too. But you threw it away. You threw it all away." Ginny started to speed up. She was not crying, no, but she couldn't stand to look at the young man any longer.

"Ginny, wait! Please, I'm begging you. You have no idea how much this is hurting me." At those last words, Ginny whirled around.

"Hurting you?! Hurting _you_?! Do you even know what I've been through these past couple of weeks?! How could anything possibly hurt you, anyways? What you did was heartless! Completely heartless! Now leave me alone. I never want to talk to you again." Ginny turned back around and walked quickly down the hallway, but Harry was quicker.

"Gin. Stop, right now." He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her a little roughly against the wall, and she gasped audibly. "All I want is your forgiveness. Please, Gin. Just forgive me, and I'll never talk to you again." He was shaking her shoulders lightly to get the point across.

"No, Potter. Because then you would win. And I won't let you get away with this. You're going to have to carry this burden for the rest of your life, and you deserve it." Ginny spoke confidently, but she was a little afraid of what Harry would do. He never got violent, but he seemed pretty desperate.

"Damn it, Ginny!" He yelled right in her face. "You don't get it, do you? You are, without a doubt, the most stubborn person I've ever met!" He shook her shoulders roughly once more.

"Get your hands off of me. Right now or I will yell again." He still didn't remove his hands from her shoulders. "Get off of me! Leave me alone! Don't you get it? I don't want to see you _ever again_!!" She tried to struggle against his grip, but to no avail. Then, Ginny heard footsteps. Slightly urgent footsteps.

"Potter, just what do you think you're doing?" It was Malfoy. "I believe she told you to leave her alone."

_Gee, he seems to be saving me a lot lately…_Ginny thought to herself.

"This doesn't concern you, Malfoy." He still hadn't taken his grip from Ginny's shoulders.

"On the contrary, Potter. This Weasley here happens to be quite close with my best mate, Blaise, so, indirectly, it _does_ concern me. Get your hands off of her."

Ginny was slightly, nay, completely surprised about what Malfoy was doing. He was defending her, trying to get her out of the situation she was unfortunately in. When Harry didn't remove his hands, Malfoy stalked forward and ripped his arms from their grasp on Ginny's shoulders, and then he stepped between Harry and Ginny, guarding Ginny with his body.

"Now listen, Potter, and listen good. You ever lay your hands on her again, and you'll be sorry. Mark my words." Malfoy was sneering at Harry.

"Consider them marked." With that, Harry walked away back in the direction he and Ginny had come from earlier.

Ginny stepped out from behind Malfoy and huffed in annoyance. "I swear he is the most thick-headed, ignorant little jerk I have ever met!"

Draco chuckled lightly. "Finally, someone understands my pain. Are you…uhm…all right?"

Ginny looked up at him. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, again. I might need to hire you as my bodyguard if I don't stop getting into these situations." She smiled up at him. For the first time, she took in his appearance. His skin was very pale, but not albino. His eyes looked like two little full moons with just one dark crater in the middle. His face was very sharp and angular, though it suited him. His hair was platinum blonde, and it hung loosely around his forehead, quite different to the sleeked back look he used to maintain.

He sort of smiled back. "Well, I hate the kid just as much as you do, apparently. Plus, you looked like you could use some help."

"Well, thanks again." Ginny remembered back to the other night when Draco had tried to physically remove her from the library and compared it to recent events. She became confused. "Hey, how come you're being, like, _nice_ to me?" She asked the question before she realized that his mood could change completely in a matter of seconds.

Surprisingly, it didn't. "Well, I told you at detention that night what Blaise had told me about you. I put two and two together and figured Potter was the problem, so I didn't want to add to the jerk you already have to deal with." Draco knew he was only telling part of the truth; the rest would just have to wait. He smiled again at her.

Ginny returned his smile. "Oh, okay. Well, I have to get going to the library; I have a _ton_ of homework to catch up on. I have no idea how I'm going to do it all this weekend."Ginny started to walk away. "I'll…uhm…see you around, okay?"

"Wait, I can help you if you want." Draco had let it slip out before he could think over what he was suggesting.

"Uhm, okay. That would be great, actually, because I need a lot of help with that Potions essay."

"Sure thing." They began to walk towards the library in an awkward silence. Once there, they sat at a table in a dimly lit corner. "So, what do you need to know for the Potions essay?"

Ginny sighed. "Everything. I can't even begin to fathom why he put me in the higher class." She took out her Potions book and perused the text. After a few minutes, she slammed the book shut. "I can't do this. I can't do homework right now. My mind is all jumbled up." She came to a decision in her mind. "Listen, I guess…I guess I'll tell you…what happened. The reason why you're being nice to me."

Draco perked up. "Really? You don't have to, not just yet, if you don't want to."

"No, I do." She sighed. "Well, I guess it all started last year. You know how I was going out with Potter," he smirked slightly at her use of his last name. "Everything was great, you know, young love and all that jazz. I even had a great best friend, Mallory Sinclair."

"So is she the one you hexed last week?"

"Indeed. Anyway, we dated all through the summer…" Ginny recounted the entire story to Draco, and at the end she was near tears.

Inside, Draco was livid. Even _he_ would never do that to someone. Now he had another reason to hate Potter. This girl sitting before him had hurt herself for the selfish prick. "I swear, next time I see that Scarface again, I will—"

Ginny laughed, despite the situation. "No, you don't have to do anything. Oh, shoot. It's almost dinnertime and then I have to meet Logan back here." She gathered her things and put her bag on her shoulder. "I'll see you later, okay? Bye, Mal—" She stopped herself. "Draco."

"Bye, Weasley."

Ginny left the library without a backwards glance. She walked all the way to the Great Hall in a mood similar to the one she was in when she had left the Hospital Wing earlier. When she walked into the Great Hall, she saw three pairs of eyes on her: Logan's, Blaise's, and Dumbledore's. She smiled at each of them in turn to assure them that she was okay. She took a place next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table and dug in; relishing the taste of the food she had dearly missed.

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A/N: yeah, well. it's not as long as my past two, but it's something. there was a bit of d/g, so it should be all good. i want some reviews, people. it's not that hard to do :D

**Contest**: In this chapter, I used a movie quote and a song lyric. Now, if you find the movie quote and know what movie it's from, give your answer in a review. Same for the song lyric; if you know the lyric and the song/artist, give your answer in a review. People who get the right answer will get a virtual hug and they get to create their own character (name, personality, house) based on themselves that i'll use somewhere in the story. not necessarily the next chapter.

people who get _both_ answers will get the same, as well as having the chapter dedicated to them.

weeeee 3 good luck, munchkins.

ALSO: i know the chapter title is lame, but it kinda works...i guess...they smiled-- spent time together in the library. w00t.


	9. Chapter 9

Ugh. My life has been a complete bore lately. I got extremely uninspired because of this testing I had to do last week and my brain pretty much malfunctioned.

Congratulations to my winners: **Kindali Sidera, Catnipob, Dark Angell908, and Shia**

One winner's alias was **Shia **and because this person doesn't have an account, I hope that they see this and send me another review with character stuff. Although one winner found a loophole in my rules, no one found the movie quote that I was hoping they would find. Hint: It's from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Prize is the same. Hop to it, lovies.

Chapter 9—Cruelty and Chivalry

Ginny left the Great Hall feeling very content with the fullness of her stomach. Also, she was in good spirits because Dumbledore mentioned that there will be a Christmas Ball the night before students leave to go home for the holidays.

Ginny automatically made her way to the library, knowing that Logan would be there waiting to hear the story. Ginny sighed. She was _not_ looking forward to recounting the background of her fainting spell to her kind-of boyfriend. Ginny was afraid that he would get jealous, angry, heart-broken…

When Ginny entered the library, an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her to a Quidditch-toned body. She gasped audibly and then looked up at her captor; she saw blue-gray eyes looking down at her, dancing with amusement.

"Don't look so scared, Ginny," Logan laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't snuck up on me like that, I wouldn't be having heart palpitations." Ginny looked up at him with a stern face.

Logan chuckled again. "You are one of a kind, Ginny Weasley. Although, I believe you owe me an explanation." Logan's amused face changed to a more somber look.

Ginny sighed. "Yes, I suppose I do. So, you see…" It took Ginny a while to tell Logan the story, and by the end, once again, she was almost in tears. After a few deep breaths, Ginny looked up to see Logan glaring at her. Her eyes widened a bit. "Logan, what is it? What's wrong?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"What's wrong? What could possibly be wrong?" Logan's voice started to escalate, despite Madame Pince's disapproving looks. "I'll tell you what's wrong. What's wrong is that I actually liked _you_ even though you were still in love with _Potter_, and not to mention Zabini and Malfoy."

Ginny stared at him in shock. "Logan, you don't understand. Blaise is probably my best friend; it's not like that. And Draco…he's….he's just been a big help with Potter, that's all, I swear." Ginny couldn't believe that Logan thought that she would cheat on him, especially after what had happened to her that summer. "Logan, I'm sorry. I really like you, I do."

"Yeah, well I thought I liked you also. But I won't let it get to me. You know why?" Logan arched an eyebrow at her.

Ginny shook her head silently with a pained look in her eyes.

"Well, I'll explain." Logan opened his mouth to continue when he heard another female's voice.

"Logan, darling, I've been looking for you!" A seventh-year Ravenclaw girl Ginny recognized sauntered over to the table and sat down on Logan's lap and kissed him.

"Bianca, love, do you know young Ginny Weasley?" Logan asked the petite blond sitting on his lap.

"No, I don't believe I do." Bianca turned towards Ginny. "Hi, I'm Bianca Cumberland."

Ginny didn't answer. She stared at the couple before her in shock. She finally found her voice. "Logan…?"

"Speak of the devil, and he…or, she, shall appear." Logan answered coldly.

"I…I don't believe this." Ginny couldn't move. She was frozen with shock and hurt. A dormant hole in her chest from the break-up with Harry began to widen and burn within her. Logan was still staring at her and Bianca was still sitting there, looking slightly confused. Ginny shakily stood up and then sprinted out of the library.

_Not again! Not again! Not again!_ Ginny kept repeating the mantra to herself. She ran down the corridor and in the direction of the dungeons, although she didn't realize where she was going. Tears were swimming down her face. She reached the corridor where she believed the Slytherin Common Room was and stopped when she saw who she was looking for. He spotted her immediately and walked swiftly over to her. Dark brown, almost black, eyes met hers and took in her disheveled appearance and tear-stained cheeks.

"Ginny, what happened?" He stood right in front of her and gently touched her shoulders.

"Oh, Blaise," Ginny cried and threw her arms around his neck. She sobbed into his shoulder and he held her around her waist. Blaise thought she was talking in between her sobs, but he couldn't be so sure. He thought he heard her say, 'not again, not again,' over and over again.

Blaise gently moved her along with him to the wall of the corridor and he slid down it, bringing her with him. He sat her on his lap and cradled her gently while the sobs shook her body violently. Another set of footsteps reached Blaise's ears.

"Blaise, what's going on?" The dark-haired Slytherin boy looked up to see Draco standing there with confusion written across his face. "Is that the little Weasley?"

Blaise nodded silently and continued to rub Ginny's back until she would eventually calm down.

Draco felt a tiny tug in his chest at the sound of her heart-wrenching sobs, as well as a twinge of remorse. _I could never comfort her_, he thought to himself. _Wait, I'm a Malfoy, she's a Weasley. Why should I even care?_

Draco shook his head to clear his mind, and walked past Blaise and Ginny to the Slytherin Common Room entrance. He muttered the password and entered the Common Room. There were black leather sofas, loveseats, and chairs. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of stone. The tables were made of the blackest ebony. The area rugs and curtains were emerald green with silver embroidered snakes.

Pansy Parkinson spotted him immediately and rushed over to his side. The pug-faced girl could not take a hint. "Drakie, how would you like to meet me in the Room of Requirement at midnight?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively and Draco snorted.

"Please, Parkinson. The day I sleep with you is the day I declare my undying love for Voldemort." Draco brushed past her and went up to his private dormitory. He opened and closed the door in one swift movement.

As he was turning on the lamp, he heard a tapping on the window. He looked up and recognized his father's eagle owl and he immediately cursed the creature. No doubt, it would burden him with another message from Lucius about his initiation, and that was the last thing he wanted. He opened the window and let the flying creature in. Indeed, there was a piece of stationery tied to the owl's leg. Draco untied it and sent the owl on its way. He unrolled the scroll.

_Draco—_

_Do not think that you can weasel your way out of this one. You failed to prove yourself last summer and believe me; the Dark Lord was not pleased. With some convincing, he will grant you another chance. Be grateful, boy, because he wouldn't give just anyone a second chance._

_You are to come home this year during the holidays, and you will carry out your task then._

_You will not disappoint me._

_--Lucius_

Draco's eyes turned angry and he crumpled up the piece of parchment and threw it across the room, although it didn't go very far. He instead turned around and banged his fists against the wall, then rested his forehead against it. He was sick of taking orders from his father and he did not want to become a Death Eater. Although, when he was younger he thought the power would be thrilling, but he saw a lot of things in his youth that changed his mind.

After a few moments, Draco finally calmed down, and he heard a knock at his door. "It's open!" He barked at the door.

Blaise walked in, shaking his head and sighing. "Blaise, what's up? What happened to the Weasley girl?"

Blaise looked up and Draco could see the anger and animosity in his eyes. Logan whirled around and punched the wall as Draco had before. "I'm going to _kill_ that bastard!"

After telling Draco what had happened with Logan and Ginny, Draco could empathize. "What is wrong with people these days? That's twice for her, and although I don't like her very much, but that's just plain cruel."

Blaise nodded his head. "I can't even fathom how she's feeling right now. That's twice her heart was broken, both times by some insignificant prick. I know you don't like her very much, mate, but at least _try_ to be decent to her. It's the least you could do."

Draco looked up at him. "I was never really that mean to her. I just despise her brother and his stupid friends. Especially Potter. I mean, how could he take her for granted like that? She's smart, she's kind, she's gorge—" Draco's eyes widened in horror at what he was about to say. _ I called her smart, kind, and I almost said gorgeous! What's wrong with me?_

Blaise chortled. "You're right, Draco. On all counts." Draco shot him a dark look. "C'mon, Dray, don't be ashamed. Who cares if she's a Weasley? She's a great person. I'm sure she would say the same about you if you weren't so withdrawn all the time."

Draco snorted. "Yeah, I bet she thinks I'm a fabulous person. She probably still thinks I'm a Death Eater-in-training."

"Not if you show her that she's wrong. Do something that will prove her wrong."

"Like what? Save the Wizarding Community? Just slap a scar on my forehead and call me Potter."

"No, that's not what I meant. Stick up for her, or something. Do something nice for her."

"I still don't understand why I'm doing this."

"Because then my two best friends will be able to friends as well. We can be the new Golden Trio!" Blaise's eyes lit up in mock-amusement.

"Blaise how is it that you always make me want to puke?"

The only response Draco got was a chuckle.

Ginny spent the next week in her bed. She didn't get up for meals, classes, or Quidditch practice. She was eating, however. Hermione would bring her something to eat so she wouldn't starve again. She hardly slept either. There were dark bags forming under her eyes and her skin was paler than usual. Every day she spent her time staring up at the canopy of her bed. She would cry often. Her voice was raspy from the frequent sobbing. There was still a hole in her chest and it burned more and more every day.

The next Monday, McGonagall had had enough and came into the Sixth Year Girls' Dormitory.

"Miss Weasley! This behavior of yours is irrational. You have missed a week of classes and you are far behind in your work. Get out of bed this instant and if Professor Snape tells me that you are missing from his class, your punishment will be severe. You are already going to serve a week of detentions with me."

Ginny rolled over and looked at McGonagall. The Professor gasped when she saw the young girl's appearance. The Gryffindor got out of bed silently and walked to the bathroom. McGonagall shook her head and left the room.

Ginny showered in a stupor. She just stood in the shower stall, letting the cool water stream down her body. She hardly blinked. Her lips began to turn purple and she was shivering uncontrollably.

After about an hour, someone finally came to look for her. She recognized Hermione's voice.

"Ginny? Ginny are you in here? Professor Snape sent me to look for you. Gin, everyone's worried. Where are you?" Ginny could hear the hysteria in the older girl's voice. The bathroom door opened and Hermione pulled back the curtain and gasped. "Ginny! You must be freezing! Oh my, you need to get out of here!" Hermione grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Ginny's frigid shoulders.

Ginny didn't respond once. She let Hermione dry her off and dress her like a rag doll. The older girl pushed her back into the dormitory so she could get her bag. Hermione found the bag for her and carried it for Ginny. She made her way to the door and turned around to see Ginny just standing there, totally oblivious to everything around her. "Ginny? Gin, we have to go to class." Still no response. "Ginny, can you hear me? Ginny!" Hermione was yelling now. She was extremely worried about the younger girl. She walked over and felt her forehead. "You're still very cold. I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing."

Hermione put Ginny's arm around her shoulder and escorted her from the room and out of the Common Room. Moments later, they were in the Hospital Wing and Ginny still had not uttered a word. Madame Pomfrey looked at Ginny's pale bluish face and purple-tinged lips and gasped.

"Oh dear, what happened?"

"I found her in the shower. The water was cold, and she was in there for about an hour." Hermione muttered, her voice quavering slightly.

"Oh, it must be hypothermia. Poor dear, she just gets into a lot of messes, doesn't she?"

Hermione nodded. She had no idea what had gotten into Ginny and she didn't know about the Logan thing.

Madame Pomfrey ushered Ginny over to a bed with no resistance on Ginny's part. The Mediwitch wrapped the girl in many heated blankets and did a spell to take her temperature, and was not shocked to find that it was lower than it should be.

"Miss Granger, go to Professor Snape and tell him that Ginny can't make it to class today because of her condition. Also, ask him if he can make a Heating Potion for me. I don't have any in stock."

Hermione nodded silently and walked swiftly from the Hospital Wing. She made her way to the dungeons in a few minutes and walked into the classroom.

"Miss Granger, where is Miss Weasley? I sent you to get her. Her absence is not acceptable." Snape sneered.

"Uhm…Professor Snape, she's in the Hospital Wing. She…I don't know, Madame Pomfrey said it was hypo-something and that she needs you to make a Heating Potion right away."

Snape's eyes looked concerned. "Hypothermia, was it?"

"Yes, that was it."

Snape sighed. "I'll see what I can do." Snape immediately went to work on the potion while Hermione returned to her desk.

Hermione looked over at the empty seat next to her and tried to fight the tears from her eyes. _What happened to you, Gin?_ She sniffled slightly and then heard a throat clear on her other side. She whipped her head around and saw Blaise Zabini looking down at her, concern written across his face.

"Granger, did you say Ginny was at the Hospital?"

Hermione nodded silently. "Yeah, I found her this morning in the shower and she had the cold water running. She was in there for maybe an hour. Her face was bluish and her lips were purple. It was horrible. What happened to her?" Tears were threatening to spill from the girl's eyes.

Blaise's face took on a solemn look. "Sorry, I know you're her friend and all, but it's not my story to tell."

Hermione nodded in understanding and Blaise returned to his seat. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Draco, from behind, asked him what happened. Blaise turned in his seat and told Draco what Hermione told him.

"Wait, are you saying she's turning into a zombie because of that Harvey prick?"

Blaise nodded gravely. "It's ridiculous. I thought she was, I don't know, stronger than that. I'm skipping next class to visit her. Want to come with?"

Draco looked skeptical then nodded in agreement. "I guess. I mean, she won't be mad that I'm there?"

Blaise shook his head. "Nah, this might be your chance to, I don't know, prove her wrong, like we discussed."

Draco nodded again. "You're right, mate."

The two Slytherin boys finished their potions and submitted their final products to Snape, just as he was finishing the Heating Potion. "Masters Zabini and Malfoy, since you are done, would you mind running this potion up to Miss Weasley in the Hospital Wing?"

Both boys put on looks of indifference and Draco took the potion from the Professor, and walked out of the classroom.

Blaise smirked. "Well, at least we have an excuse…sort of."

Draco chuckled. "I guess you're right…again. Do you know how much I hate saying that?"

It was Blaise's turn to laugh. "I can only imagine."

The boys made their way to the Hospital Wing. When they entered, Madame Pomfrey bustled out of her office to see who the visitors were. "Boys, do you have the Heating Potion?" Draco held up his hand and raised an eyebrow. "Great, this will do the trick." The Mediwitch walked over to Ginny's bed. To Blaise, she looked mummified in all the blankets on her. He could still see the purple tinge in her lips and the bluish tint of her face. He slowly walked over to her.

Madame Pomfrey sat Ginny up and gave her the potion. "Drink up, dear. This will make you feel a lot better." She tipped the vial back and Ginny swallowed obediently. Her face immediately became flushed and her lips retained their pinkish-red color. Ginny sighed contentedly and unwrapped herself from the several blankets on top of her.

Blaise stood next to her bed. He gave Madame Pomfrey a look that said that he wanted to speak to her alone. She nodded in understanding and returned to her office.

Blaise crouched down next to the bed and beckoned Draco over. Draco stood behind him. "Ginny, are you okay?"

Ginny looked over at Blaise, her eyes dead. She shook her head gravely.

"Gin, what happened to you? Is this because of that Harvey bloke? I'll kill him, I swear I will." Blaise's sentimental tone turned a bit angry after he said 'Harvey.' Ginny didn't answer. "Gin, please, just talk to me. I was worried about you all last week. C'mon, please."

"Weas—" Blaise shook his head quickly at Draco. He sighed exasperatedly. "Ginny," she looked up when she heard Draco use her name. "I heard what happened, and I think it's ridiculous. Harvey doesn't deserve you. Neither did Potter, for that matter. They took you for granted." Draco winced slightly at his sentimental behavior towards the youngest Weasley.

Ginny's eyes flickered with something, but neither Blaise nor Draco could identify what. "Thanks," she mumbled almost incoherently.

Draco nodded and Blaise gave him an appreciative look and returned his gaze to Ginny. She was still looking at Draco with that same look in her eyes and Blaise became slightly confused. After a few moments, Madame Pomfrey came back out of her office.

"Okay boys, I think that's enough visiting time. Miss Weasley could do with some rest."

Blaise and Draco nodded in agreement and turned to leave. They were walking out of the Hospital Wing when they saw a familiar Ravenclaw walking in their direction. Both of their eyes lit up with hostility.

"Hey, Harvey, what do you think you're doing?" Blaise asked of the Ravenclaw.

Logan's eyes snapped up to Blaise's. "What does it concern you, you filthy Slytherin?"

"Filthy, are we?" Draco intervened. "Well, if we're filthy, I would _not_ want to hear what someone would describe _you_ as, you rat bastard."

Logan chuckled darkly. "Oh, I see. This is about the Weasley girl, is it not?" Logan shook his head and sighed. "So, I was right. She is a little whore. Let's see, she has you two, and she did have me as well, but I think we all know—" He didn't even get to finish his sentence. Draco's fist had connected with Logan's jaw.

"You bastard! You don't know what you're talking about! You took a great person like Ginny and turned her into this…this _zombie_! You're a pathetic human being!" Draco bellowed at the cowering Ravenclaw.

Blaise looked at Draco in awe. He'd never seen him get this worked up over _anyone_. Draco was still fuming when Blaise decided to keep the pale-haired Slytherin from damaging Logan even more.

"Draco, c'mon. It's not worth it, let's go."

"He's not worth _anything_. You know that, Harvey? You didn't deserve her. You disgust me. Even _I_ would never do that to someone. You're worthless," Draco spat at Logan.

They were turning to leave when the Hospital Wing door opened. All three boys turned to see Ginny Weasley was standing there in shock. She had heard yelling and got up to investigate while Madame Pomfrey was in her office. She looked from the bruise forming on Logan's face to Draco rubbing his knuckles to Blaise restraining him, and she made the connection. Her eyes lit up with gratitude. She smiled tentatively at Draco and he smirked slightly. Ginny held up a finger to indicate that she'll be out of the Hospital Wing in a minute. The door closed and Madame Pomfrey came over to Ginny, wondering why she was standing at the door.

"Uhm…Madame Pomfrey? I'm feeling a lot better, so could I just have a Pepper-Up potion and be on my way?"

The Mediwitch looked skeptical then nodded. "Okay, dear, but just take it easy, all right?"

Ginny nodded and took the potion from Madame Pomfrey, and left the Hospital Wing.

After she closed the door behind her, she saw Blaise and Draco waiting there expectantly. "Where'd…_he_ go?" Ginny didn't want to use his name.

"Oh, he went back to Ravenclaw, or wherever." Blaise answered her.

Ginny nodded and then she smiled again. "Thanks again, Draco. You're…you're a really great guy."

Draco snorted and Blaise elbowed him in the ribs. "No problem, Weas—" Blaise poked him again in the ribs and Draco rolled his eyes. "Ginny. I just think that guy's a pathetic loser."

Ginny nodded again and then looked a bit unsure. "Uhm…Draco? Did you really mean all that stuff you said? I mean, not just the stuff you said to him, but what you told me in the Hospital?" Ginny looked slightly afraid of what he might say.

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded reluctantly. Ginny's smile returned to her face. "Thanks again. Both of you. I don't know how I could get through this year without you two around."

Blaise returned her smile and Draco looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, I'll see you boys later. I have to go to _some_ classes this week." Ginny laughed lightly and made her way to Charms.

After she was out of earshot, Blaise whirled on Draco. "Wow, Dray, I'm proud of you. I didn't know you were going to be _that_ nice!"

Draco sneered at him. "I already told you. I hate that Harvey kid and she didn't deserve any of the crap she's gotten. I guess it was the right thing to do."

Blaise chortled. "That was some right hook. How's it feel?"

"What? My hand or the fact that I punched him?"

"Both."

"Well, my hand doesn't hurt too badly, but I feel great after punching him. Man, I really hate that kid."

Blaise looked at him curiously. "Interesting. Did you hate him before or after you found out what he did to Ginny?"

Draco looked at him with a calculating gaze. "What are you implying?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all. C'mon let's go back to…whatever class we're supposed to be in."

Draco rolled his eyes and followed his friend.

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A/N: yeah i know, ginny's life basically sucks. that was my longest chapter to date.

ALSO i'm gonna be a beehotch and i won't update until i get...say...40 reviews? i think that's reasonable.


	10. Chapter 10

Wow. It's been a long time, dears, and I apologize. I didn't get my 40 reviews but that's okay, because I felt a bit guilty for not updating sooner. Let's see, I got lazy. And during spring break, I was in the great land of Spain for 10 days and I got back just a week or so ago. Then, I went thru this stage where I could barely form a good sentence. But I'm out of my slump, so here goes chapter 10!

P.S. I will be changing the title of the story in a few chapters. So, if it changes…then…well…now you know.

Chapter Ten—No Heroes

It was about halfway through October, and Ginny felt as if her life had brightened exponentially. She was doing great in all of her classes, even Potions. Snape had decided to switch around some partners, claiming that they were 'unbalanced.' Ginny couldn't complain, however, because now she gets to work with Blaise, who had become her closest friend. A lot of people had speculated that they were together, but their relationship was purely platonic.

As for Draco, he felt as if his life had not improved at all. Ever since he got his father's letter, his attitude had become even more bitter than usual. The memory of him actually punching a guy for the littlest Weasley only added to his pessimism. Since that day, she had tried to talk to Draco, but he would just brush her off.

On a Friday about a week before Halloween, Draco was out late doing his Head Boy rounds. He went up to the Astronomy Tower to make sure that it was clear. He pushed open the door at the top and stopped dead when he saw an unexpected guest.

His father.

Lucius Malfoy was standing close to the window and the moon reflected off of his silvery-blonde hair. Draco stared at his mirror-image father with contempt. "Father," he spat, "what are you doing here?"

"Do not take that tone with me, boy. You never answered my letter from last month." Lucius sneered at his son.

"It's not as if you would take my answer into consideration. I still stand where I did last summer," Draco answered him boldly.

"Is that so?" Lucius asked, a cruel smirk growing on his face. "Well, then I'll just have to change your mind. _Crucio_!" Lucius cast the curse at Draco.

Draco felt as if his nerve endings were on fire. White hot knives were penetrating every fiber of his being. He fell to his knees in pain and managed to maintain consciousness throughout the ordeal. It had been a while since Lucius had cast the Cruciatus curse on him, but he usually ended up passed out. Draco took his full consciousness as a good sign.

Lucius released the curse and Draco panted and wiped sweat from his forehead. He would not give Lucius the satisfaction of tears.

"Think about it. You have until Christmas, and if you do not obey the Dark Lord and I, then you will be most severely punished. You will wish for death. Mark my words." Lucius flinched and then smiled. "Ah, the Dark Lord is calling. We have a rather _exciting_ mission tonight." Lucius fled from the Astronomy Tower.

Draco gathered some energy and crawled to the window. He pulled himself up and grasped the ledge. As he looked out across the grounds, he could see a dark figure running out towards the Forbidden Forest. He guessed it was Lucius going to Apparate back to Malfoy Manor.

After some more deep breathing, Draco felt a bit better. He knew he would feel a lot of pain in the morning, but it didn't matter to him. He just wanted to go back to his private Head Boy dormitory and sleep for an eternity.

Ginny woke up Saturday morning feeling slightly melancholic. She realized that Quidditch was going to be starting soon and that means practices would be starting soon, meaning she would have to spend time with Potter. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and groaned, trying to make a decision. The verdict was that she would talk to Blaise, and that he would know what to do. He always does.

Ginny walked to the bathroom and took a relaxing shower. After she stepped out, she dried off and got dressed. She put on some jeans, actual girl jeans, and one of her sweaters with a large 'G' in the middle. It was navy blue.

With a sudden inspiration, Ginny ran back into her dormitory and started rifling through different cosmetic and fashion magazines that the other girls had left lying around. She gathered a bunch and her wand and returned to the bathroom.

Flipping through the magazines, Ginny had only one goal in mind. She wanted a new hairstyle. Her straight hair was extremely boring and she wanted something classier. She finally found a spell that could make her hair wavy. Picking up her wand, Ginny pointed it at her hair and muttered the incantation. Almost immediately, her hair came down in soft waves to the middle of her back. Ginny smiled giddily and looked for another spell to make her hair a tad bit darker. She finally found one and repeated the aforementioned process.

When Ginny was done, she placed a Permanent Charm on her hair so she wouldn't have to do it every day, even though it wasn't that difficult.

The improved Weasley girl walked down the Great Hall for breakfast, receiving two hands full of compliments on the way. She sat down near Neville Longbottom and Colin Creevey. Even though she had snubbed them earlier in the year, she apologized because she felt like they were her only Gryffindor allies, excluding members of the Golden Trio.

"Wow, Ginny," Colin exclaimed, "you look smashing!"

Ginny giggled a bit. "Thanks Colin."

"Yeah, Ginny, it looks really nice," Neville added.

Ginny smiled at him genuinely and began to eat her breakfast. Today, Ginny was going to try to talk to Draco again. She looked up at the Gryffindor table and saw that he wasn't there. Frowning, she looked to Blaise and gave him a questioning look, giving a small nod towards his empty place.

Blaise responded with a nod towards outside and a shrug. Ginny nodded and continued with her meal.

After breakfast, she went outside to see if Draco was out there. Indeed, he was. The Slytherin boy was sitting under the tree on the side of the lake, one of Ginny's favorite places in all of Hogwarts.

Ginny walked up behind him and knelt beside him underneath the tree. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

He started at her voice and then regained his composure. Draco sneered, "Yeah, it's just bloody wonderful. Can I help you, Weasley?"

"No, I expect not. I just wanted to talk, that's all," Ginny answered sincerely.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you, so get a move on," Draco answered, staring at the lake the entire time.

Ginny scoffed, "'Get a move on?' I think not, Malfoy. I happen to like this spot very much and I'm _not_ going to give it up for an insufferable jerk like you."

Draco pretended to look hurt. "What? I thought I was such a, what was it? _Great guy_." Draco recited her words from a few weeks ago.

"I withdraw that statement."

"You can't do that."

Ginny started to get angry. "I just did. Anyways, it's not as if you really are or anything. I mean, you were nice to me, and then you treat me with disdain all of a sudden. I'm just trying to talk to you! First, you were nice to me in the Hospital Wing, and then you punched Harvey because of what he did to me! How am I supposed to take that?" Ginny was yelling by now.

Draco was quick with his answer. "You're right. I punched him for what he did to you, but I would still punch him if he did it to anyone else, so don't think that you're some special case." She looked ready to interrupt him when he started again. "Ginny," she looked surprised at hearing her first name from him, even if he had used it before, "you can't think of me as some sort of hero because I punched some guy. You've been having a lot of trouble this year and I know that I've helped you a lot. But I'm not always going to be there every time Potter bothers you or Harvey is a jackass. I don't know what you're expectations of me are, but I'm not going to be you're bloody knight in shining armor whenever something like that happens again! I'm _not_ a hero!"

Ginny looked at him incredulously. "Is that what you think? I don't _want_ a hero! You hear me? I don't _want_ a knight in shining armor, okay?! I just…I don't know what I want from you!"

Draco looked a tad shocked, but, once again, he covered it quickly. He sighed exasperatedly. "I don't know what you could possibly want from me either."

Ginny stood up to leave and so did Draco. "Listen, Draco, I'm sorry. I won't bother you again." She turned around to leave but he caught her arm.

He sighed again. "No, Ginny, don't be sorry."

"Get your hands off of her, Malfoy." They both looked over to see none other than Harry Bloody Potter standing there. Draco didn't release the hold on Ginny's arm. "I said, leave her alone."

Draco started, "Just who the hell do you think—" Ginny cut him off with a look.

"No heroes," she whispered. She whipped around and faced Harry. She took a deep breath, "Potter, I don't know _who_ you _think_ you are, but you have absolutely _no right_ to talk to me. I don't _care_ that you and Draco hate each other, because I happen to dislike you as well. We were having a conversation," Ginny stopped, laughing mirthlessly. "Wait, why do I even have to explain this to you? I don't know when you're ever going to get it. I'm not going to forgive you. So please, just _leave me alone_."

Harry looked hurt, and Ginny was getting tired of it. "Ginny, I'm sorry, it's just…it's…_Malfoy_ and I can't stand him talking to someone I care abo—" He was cut off when Ginny punched him right in the nose, snapping his glasses in half. He looked at her in shock.

"Don't you _dare_ say that you care about me." Ginny hissed through clenched teeth. She stalked off, leaving a bleeding Gryffindor and an amused Slytherin.

Draco chuckled lightly and walked after her.

Ginny walked into the Entrance Hall and saw Ron standing there. Ron raised an eyebrow at her. "New look, Ginny? It looks nice." He told her with a smile.

Ginny tried to smile back. "Thanks, Ron."

"Hey, what's wrong? You seem…tense."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Just that bloody friend of yours. I swear if he doesn't leave me alone, he's going to regret even more than he probably does right now."

"Why, what happened?" Ron's eyes were filled with concern for his friend's, as well as his sister's, well-being.

Before Ginny could answer, McGonagall strode towards them. "Miss Weasley, Master Weasley, please follow me to the Headmaster's Office." Ron opened his mouth. "No questions just follow me."

Ginny was worried about the look on McGonagall's face. When they reached the gargoyle, McGonagall recited the password and a spiraling staircase appeared. All three climbed onto it until they reached the door the Professor Dumbledore's office. They walked in and Ginny noticed that Dumbledore looked very grim.

"Miss Weasley, Master Weasley, please have a seat." The two siblings sat down in chairs facing Dumbledore's desk and McGonagall went to stand next to where the Headmaster was seated. "I'm afraid I have some terrible news. It pains me to have to carry on the news to you children. You see, there was a Death Eater attack last night…"

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A/N: well, i hope it's a cliffhanger. not a terribly great chapter. that whole knight/hero bit was written during my algebra 2 accelerated (i know, shoot me now) class this morning at about seven thirty. so i guess parabolas are a root for inspiration? god, i hope not.

reviews please :D


	11. Chapter 11

Hah, there's going to be some plot in this one…cough

Chapter Eleven – Burning

"Who would do such a thing, Professor?" Came Ron's voice in between sobs.

Professor Dumbledore had not realized it was a rhetorical question and replied with an unusual bluntness. "Lucius Malfoy."

Ginny sat statue-like, showing no reaction to the tragic news. Her mind was swimming and she could faintly hear Ron's soft sobs on her right.

Abruptly, she stands up and storms from the office. Feeling slightly claustrophobic, she ran down the stairs and into the corridor. Ginny walked in the hallway for about two meters when the gravity of the situation hit her full force. Falling to her knees, she felt a hurt swelling in her chest. The dormant hole in her breast, the one that burned for days after the Harry and Logan situations, began to eat at her. Ginny wrapped her arms around her middle and began gasping for air.

After hyperventilating for a few moments, Ginny cried out and began to sob uncontrollably. Her brother, Bill, was dead.

Draco walked down the hallway, still smirking at the memory of Ginny punching Harry. He laughed and shook his head. _She's really something that one is._ He turned down a familiar corridor, the one where Dumbledore's office was, and heard a loud yet strangled sound coming from a heap on the floor. Confused, Draco looked closer at the lump and saw a mass of fiery red hair. He was thoroughly shocked to see Ginny Weasley on the floor, crying as if her heart depended on it.

Draco knelt down next to her. "G-Ginny?" He still felt awkward calling her by her first name. "What's wrong?"

The face Draco saw was not one that he recognized. This Ginny Weasley before him, the one with the dead eyes and the tear-stained skin, was not the same Ginny he talked to outside, the one with a spark in her eye and not a worry on her face.

In that moment, Ginny's eyes came to life. The emotion Draco identified was one of hatred, loathing. Ginny pushed Draco so that he landed on his back. She stood up the same time that he did, exasperation written all over his face.

"Ginny, what are you doing?"

Ginny came towards him and started pounding her fists against his chest. He tried to restrain her by holding her shoulders but it was no use. She was screaming at him as well, and he picked up a few words, such as 'father,' 'killed,' and 'Bill.'

Eventually, Ginny crumbled and just collapsed onto Draco, sobbing even more hysterically, and yelling out the occasional unintelligible phrase. Draco, not knowing what to do, wrapped his arms around the girl and sat them both on the ground.

Draco felt an odd, unfamiliar feeling swarming inside. He identified it as concern for Ginny and was a little surprised at the thought. Occasionally, Ginny would make a feeble attempt to hit him again, but her fists barely reached him. He didn't know how long he sat there with her in his arms, but he didn't know what he would do if someone found them like that.

Making a quick decision, Draco picked her up bride-style and carried her towards the dungeons. He came to a painting of a raging sea with a fierce dragon flying overhead and said the password that gained him entry to his Head Boy Dormitory. He quickly checked his surroundings and walked inside. Once in the room, he deposited Ginny on the couch in front of the fireplace. Draco sighed. _What happened to you, Ginny?_ He had never known someone who could fall apart like that. Sighing again, Draco got out a quill and parchment and scratched a quick note.

_Blaise—_

_Something's up with Ginny. I brought her to my Dormitory. Come here as soon as you get this._

_--Draco_

The Slytherin boy rolled up the letter and sprinted out of the room, in the direction of the Owlery. He sent off the letter with the first owl he found and quickly ran back to his room. Outside the painting, Draco decided to wait for Blaise there and catch his breath. He put his hands on his knees and hunched over slightly to regain composure. After waiting for a few minutes, he heard footsteps rushing towards him. Draco looked up and saw Blaise rushing down the hallway.

"Draco, what happened? What's going on?" Blaise asked, concern etched on his features.

Draco shook his head. "I wish I could tell you. I found her crying, she went ballistic on me, she cried some more, and I brought her back here." Blaise raised his eyebrows at him and Draco just shrugged. "It seemed like the right thing to do."

Blaise sighed and said the password to get into Draco's room. Ginny looked up at the sound of somebody entering and immediately ran over to Blaise, a new wave of tears beginning to surface. Blaise clutched her in his arms and stroked her hair. Draco stood there awkwardly while Blaise comforted Ginny.

After a long while, Ginny settled down. Blaise brought her over to the couch and laid her down for she had fallen asleep hanging in his arms. He walked past Draco and into the latter's bedroom. Draco hurried in after him and shut the door.

Blaise ran a hand through his hair. "She's a mess. And you're saying you have _no_ idea what's wrong with her?"

Draco furrowed his brow in concentration. "Actually, she sort of did. When she initially saw me she started hitting me and saying things like 'father,' 'killed,' and 'Bill.'" Blaise's eyes widened in horror. "What? Do you know what that means?"

"Draco, I know this is going to sound a bit far-fetched, or maybe not at all, but," Blaise sighed, "Ginny has a brother named Bill. My guess is that . . . your father . . ._ killed_ him." Blaise looked at Draco's face to judge is reaction.

Draco's face took on a look of shock as Blaise's had earlier. "Blaise I think you're right." Draco's shock quickly turned to anger and he pounded his fist on the wall as he had done many times before. "What am I supposed to do now? How can I even _think_ of being a . . . a friend to her after what my father did? Why her, Blaise? Why did all these things happen to her? It's not fair, not in the least. I hated my father before, but now, I can't even _describe_ it! The only thing that that girl has gone through this year is pain, and I feel like I can't help her. What did she do to deserve this?!" After Draco was done with his tirade, he drew in deep breaths and looked shocked once again at all the things he just said. He looked up at Blaise, who had a small grin on his face. "With all that's going on all you can do is _smile_?" Draco asked incredulously. "What are you playing at?"

Blaise chortled lightly. "Draco, my friend, I didn't know you felt so strongly about darling Weaselette."

Draco groaned in annoyance, plopped down on his bed, and put his head in his hands. "Now is not the time, Blaise."

"Oh I think it is, Draco," Blaise's tone taking on seriousness, "for someone who has hated that girl all these years of school, you seem pretty pent up on doing things like defending her and making sure she's okay."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say. She's a Weasley-"

"Enough! Enough of this Weasley-Malfoy nonsense! It's blatantly obvious that you care about her, so stop trying to hide it with your damn prejudice."

Draco sighed. "Blaise, that's not the point. Okay, I admit that I care about her," Blaise raised his eyebrows again. "Don't give me that, you know you just trapped me." Blaise grinned and shrugged. "Anyway, how can I even get close to somebody without my father using them to hurt me?"

"Ah, so you want to get _close_ to her, then?" Blaise smirked.

Draco shot him a glare, and then sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll admit that I'm attracted to her, and I guess I like her personality," he said, rolling his eyes, and then smiling. "Especially when she punched Potter in the face," he chuckled.

"Don't change the subject. Now, about getting you two together…" Blaise put on a face of mock concentration. "Oh, I know. Next weekend there's a Hogsmeade visit, so why don't you ask her? I'm going with Catherine-"

"Catherine? The Ravenclaw?" Draco asked.

"Yes. Now I'll continue, if you don't mind. Okay, I'll be with Catherine so it won't be too awkward." Blaise's eyes were glittering like a child on Christmas morning.

"Oh, that sounds bloody spectacular, Blaise!" Draco exclaimed with sarcasm. "Just one problem, in case you forgot, my father killed her brother. She doesn't want to come near me," Draco stood up and started pacing.

"You're right, Dray, that is a problem," Blaise took a few moments to come up with a solution. "I got it. Ginny, Catherine, and I will head into Hogsmeade and we'll meet up with you at the Hog's Head because they're not as crowded. Of course, Ginny won't know that you're there. It'll be a nice double-date type of thing." Blaise smiled, full of pride at his plan.

"Another problem: what if she starts flipping out at me in there?" Draco asked with a bit of concern.

"Don't worry. I'll talk to her this week, you know, give you a good image."

Draco looked skeptical, but then nodded in approval. "Fine. Now, I don't know about you, but I think she should return to Gryffindor. Her brother's probably looking for her."

With that, Blaise stood and headed to the Common Room Draco shared with Hermione. Blaise jumped when he say Hermione sitting on one of the couches comforting Ron while looking curiously at Ginny's sleeping form. Hermione looked up when Blaise walked in. As her mouth opened to ask a question, Blaise held up his hand and she stopped. He gave her a look telling her that he'd explain later. Hermione nodded and returned her attention to Ron. Blaise walked over to Ginny and gently shook her awake. Ginny mumbled incoherently and sat up.

"Ginny, I'm going to take you back to your House," Blaise told her gently.

Ginny nodded sleepily and Blaise bent down to scoop her up. He carried her the same way Draco had before. Blaise turned to Draco's room, where the Head Boy was standing in the doorway. Blaise cocked his head and Draco followed Blaise and Ginny out the door. Feeling sufficiently uncomfortable, Draco kept a short distance between them.

Ginny finally woke up fully and started fussing. "Blaise, put me down," she demanded.

The dark-haired boy nodded, and put Ginny on the floor. From her spot on the ground, Ginny glared up at him. Without another word, Ginny stood, brushed herself off and left.

Blaise looked at Draco in confusion and Draco shrugged. They huddled together and started whispering. "Do you think she's mad at me because I brought you along?" Blaise asked.

Draco nodded. "That sounds about right. What should we do?"

It was Blaise's turn to shrug. "I don't know." They stopped their hushed conversation and looked in the direction that Ginny had left in. At the end of the corridor, she was slumped against the wall, her shoulders shaking violently with sobs once again.

Blaise made to go to her, and Draco stopped him. "I think I should straighten this out with her myself." Blaise nodded and Draco continued down the hallway. Draco approached Ginny cautiously and he put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped at his touch and looked up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was a mess. To Draco, she still looked nothing less than beautiful. She shrugged out of his light grip and turned away. "Ginny, please," he pleaded softly, "just hear me out."

Ginny composed herself. "What could you _possibly_ say to make me feel better?"

Draco drew in a deep breath. "Ginny, do you honestly think I'm happy? Do you think I take pride in being a Malfoy? Every time my father does something, people like to me like I'm just as guilty." Draco sighed, and then continued, "Last summer, my father took me on a Death Eater mission. Father wanted me to be initiated early so I could off my Dark Mark to the other Slytherins. We went to a Muggle home just outside of Wiltshire, where I live. The family consisted of a mother, father, a teenage girl, and a young boy. My father told me that I was to rape, torture, and kill the teenage girl." Ginny gasped. "At first, I stood aside as my father and some other Death Eaters tortured the little boy in front of his parents and sister, and then kill him. Next, they killed the parents. All that was left was the girl, and she was supposed to be 'my prize' as my father would call it," he laughed mirthlessly. "I refused to do such things. You see, when I was younger I thought the power of being a Death Eater would be exhilarating. But last summer alone, I saw enough rape, torture, and murder to last me a lifetime. When I turned down the task, my father did it himself and I was forced to stand there and do nothing for the poor girl. When we returned to the Manor, I had to endure the worst Crucio of my life. I had never seen my father that vengeful. He locked me in my room until school started back up. I never want to be like him. I could never handle a life like that, and I hate sounding so weak." He looked up at Ginny and saw that she had fresh tears in her eyes. He realized that they were tears for him, not for her brother.

"Draco, I-I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have judged you." She hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. Her tone became fierce, "and you listen to me right now. You are _not _weak. It takes a lot to stand up to your family, especially someone like your father."

Draco attempted a smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "Thanks, Ginny. That's all I needed to hear. And you do not know how sorry I am for your loss. I hate my father even more than I did this summer."

Ginny nodded and sniffled a bit. "I appreciate your sympathy, it means a lot." She looked up at him and threw her arms around him, embracing him tightly. He hugged her back fervently. Draco felt like a weight had been lifted after sharing all of that with her. There was still more he wanted to tell, like how much he cared about her, but that would have to wait.

At the other end of the hallway, Blaise smiled at the sight before him. Chuckling, he walked back down to the dungeons.

_Who would've thought…_

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A/N: woo. so basically, this was written during algebra, spanish and biology today. oh and i guess there's not really much plot in it but whatevs.

**catnipob**-yes, you're catherine. i made her from ravenclaw instead, i hope you don't mind. you'll be in the next chapter a bit and i hope i do your character justice!


	12. Chapter 12

I was bored in English today…

I feel bad for anybody who has to read Hard Times in their English class and then watch the movie. Seriously:::puts hand over heart::: I _feel_ for you.

_**Read**_: after chapter fifteen, the title will be changed to _Imagine_. Word.

Chapter Twelve—Damn Those Eyes

Ginny backed out of the embrace after a few moments. Sniffling, she looked down at her shoes while wiping the remnants of tears from her face. She looked up at Draco and saw that he was staring at her. Offering him a weak smile, Ginny began to head to her Tower, but Draco stopped her.

"Ginny, do you want me to walk you back?" He asked her.

Ginny nodded her head, "Yes that would be great, thanks."

They walked in an uncomfortable silence. For Ginny, she was wondering why moments ago she and Draco Malfoy, Prince of Slytherin, were hugging after they had a little heart-to-heart.

Draco was having similar thoughts. He had just told Ginny Weasley, Princess of Gryffindor, about something that he wished he could erase from his memory forever.

Draco didn't know how long they had been walking, nor did he know how much farther they had to go. They were walking down a hallway that had a great collection of paintings. Each painting had a great Wizarding Achievement depicted in it. The pictures showed things that the Muggles called 'The Great Wonders of the World,' but these 'Wonders' were actually created by wizards. Draco and Ginny were passing a particularly large painting that showed the Great Pyramids in Egypt.

Ginny looked over at the painting and froze. _Egypt…_ That was where her brother had worked before he met his untimely demise. She backed away from the painting until she hit the opposite wall. Sliding down the wall, Ginny barely even noticed as Draco walked over to her and knelt beside her. Draco had seen Ginny look at the painting and remembered something about her brother working in Egypt.

Ginny was breathing deeply, trying to will the tears back. Her efforts were futile, however, because the tears swam down her face in thick streams. Her heart was constricting painfully and she felt like she was going to lose her breath again.

Draco was kneeling there, without an idea as to what he should do. Gently, he grabbed her left shoulder and angled her body so that she wasn't facing the painting anymore. Draco stared down at her and she gazed back at him. A tear started to make its way down her cheek and Draco, without thinking, brushed it away with his thumb. He stared into her eyes and he could see all the pain in the dark brown orbs. The hand that held her face slowly moved downwards, over her neck and it rested on her shoulder. He gave her a reassuring squeeze. She nodded and took a deep breath to regain composure. Draco stood up and offered a hand to Ginny, and she gratefully took it.

Wiping her face once again, Ginny continued on her way to Gryffindor Tower with Draco in tow. When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Draco couldn't help but chuckle.

Ginny turned towards him in confusion. "What could _possibly_ be so funny?"

Draco immediately sobered, but Ginny could see laughter in his eyes. "Oh, sorry, it's just, that's the entrance to your tower?" He asked, pointing to the Fat Lady.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes, as a matter of fact, it is." She sighed. "Draco, I want to thank you, really."

He shrugged. "Don't mention it." He was about to say goodnight, when he remembered something. "Hey, Ginny, there's a Hogsmeade visit next Saturday and—"

Ginny laughed lightly. "Sure, I'll go with you. This was all Blaise's work, I suppose?"

Draco grinned. "You bet it was. He's going with some girl Catherine from Ravenclaw and I guess he thought it would be fun if we went with him together." He shrugged again.

Ginny smiled a little. "Goodnight, Draco."

"'Night, Ginny," Draco responded and began to head back to the dungeons.

Ginny waited until he was out of earshot to say the password. She didn't think that her brother, or anyone else in Gryffindor for that matter, would be happy to find out that Draco Malfoy knew their password.

The red-headed girl crawled into bed and tried to fall asleep. The memory of Dumbledore's office kept playing in her mind, and she was soon crying again, and that is how she fell into a restless sleep.

--

Before Ginny knew it, it was Saturday and she was getting ready to go to Hogsmeade. Her week had been anything but uneventful. On Monday, she and Ron were excused from school to go to Bill's funeral. Tuesday, they were able to spend the day with their family, but they were to return to school the next day. Blaise had talked to her a bit about their plans for Hogsmeade. She was to meet Blaise, Catherine, and Draco outside of the Hog's Head at eleven. It was now quarter of and Ginny was scrambling to get her act together.

Ginny wasn't too nervous. She didn't really think that she was on a date with Draco, but just that they were keeping each other company while Blaise was on his date. Okay, it did sound like a date, but Ginny didn't really want to think that she was going out with her brother's enemy.

Sighing, Ginny quickly dried her hair and donned her outfit for the day. She was wearing jeans and a thick, black turtleneck. After throwing her hair up in a ponytail, Ginny grabbed some money and ran out of the door. She was running late and she knew it.

In the Common Room, Ron stopped her to ask her why she was running as if the devil was on her heels, but she barely managed to say "late meeting friends" in between pants.

Ginny raced through the halls of Hogwarts and was soon in the Entrance Hall. She looked around briefly at the decorations and then remembered that it was Halloween. Filch checked her name off and she took a minute to take some deep breaths. Reenergized, Ginny ran across the grounds to the road that led to Hogsmeade. Ginny was never too athletic, but she supposed that Quidditch training had got her in shape and that was why she seemed to have a lot of endurance.

Noticing that the village was very crowded, Ginny decided to walk the rest of the way; she didn't want to trip over anybody. Slowly, she pushed through the crowd until she could see the sign for the Hog's Head come into view. Outside of the pub, Ginny could make out Blaise's dark head, and Draco's light one. Smiling, Ginny walked up to them.

"I'm sorry I'm late, you guys." She apologized.

"Ah, Ginny it's all right," Blaise told her. "Now, I don't want to be rude, so I shall introduce you to Catherine." Blaise stepped aside and motioned back and forth between the two girls. "Catherine, Ginny, Ginny, Catherine."

Ginny smiled. "Hello, Catherine."

Catherine returned her smile. "Hi, Ginny, Blaise has told me a lot about you."

Ginny laughed. "I bet he has." Ginny looked at the Ravenclaw girl before her. She guessed that Catherine was in her Seventh Year, because she hadn't really seen her before. Catherine had shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair, pale skin with a few freckles, and big green eyes. She had a great figure and was about Ginny's height. "So Catherine, what kind of spell did Blaise put you under to make you go out with him?" Ginny asked with a slight smirk on her face.

Catherine giggled a bit at the look on Blaise's face and Ginny rolled her eyes. She turned to Draco, who she still hadn't acknowledged.

"Draco," she nodded to him.

"Ginny," he nodded back.

Blaise looked between the two, and threw his hands in the air. "For the love of Merlin, you two are impossible."

Confused, Ginny looked at Blaise. "Blaise, what did you mean by that?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well," Blaise started, but then stopped when he received a bone-chilling glare from Draco. Blaise cleared his throat, "nothing, nothing at all, Ginny."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. After an awkward silence, Ginny motioned to the pub they had been standing in front of. "Shall we?"

Catherine looked skeptical. "I don't think we should go in there. I think it's too shady." She looked to Blaise for support.

"Yeah, Catherine's right. A bit too sketchy for my liking," Blaise shuddered, and then clapped his hands together. "Okay, where shall we go then?"

Ginny spoke up. "Um, I think there's a little tea shop over that way," she said, pointing down a side street.

Draco looked worried, "It's not that one with the hearts and cupids everywhere, is it?"

"Merlin, no," Ginny answered.

"Well, that's settled then." Blaise said, and they all went down the side street that Ginny had pointed to moments before.

Blaise and Catherine led the way and Ginny walked with Draco behind them. Ginny was starting to feel more uncomfortable because it was starting to feel like a date. Then, she started to think that if this was a date, and Draco had been the one to ask, then did that mean something? Did he like her? Or was he just looking for friendship? Ginny nodded at the last theory and relaxed a little. Another doomed relationship was the last thing that Ginny needed right now.

"Um, Ginny, where exactly is this place?" Blaise asked her from the front.

Ginny looked around and didn't recognize her surroundings. She cursed under her breath. "Blaise, sorry, I think it might be the other way."

"C'mon, Blaise, you should know not to let a Weasley give directions," said Draco with amusement.

"Oh, shut up, Draco." Ginny swatted his arm playfully. "Okay, let's get out of here, it's creeping me out a bit."

"Me too," said Catherine.

They turned around and headed in the opposite direction, this time with Draco and Ginny leading. As they stepped back onto the main street of Hogsmeade, Ginny immediately wished that they had gone in the right direction the first time.

Walking right by her and Draco were her brother, Harry and Hermione. Ron looked up as he saw her and stopped when he saw who she was with.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" Ron asked her suspiciously.

"Oh, relax, Ronald. I'm just enjoying a day in Hogsmeade with my friends."

"Yeah, yeah I know how you and Zabini are friends, but why is _Malfoy_ with you guys?" Ron spat the name as if it were a disease.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Because he's friends with Blaise as well and we're just hanging out. And I would really appreciate it if you weren't so defensive all the time."

"I'm not being defensive," Ron said. Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Okay, maybe I am, but what am I supposed to do? He's a-"

"Don't say it," Ginny pleaded.

He didn't hear her, "-Death Eater." Ron concluded. Catherine gasped, but Blaise shushed her.

Ginny groaned and looked at Draco. His eyes were swimming with fury at Ron's implications. Ginny touched his arm lightly, "Draco, let's go. Come on just forget it." She turned to Ron. "Ron, you shut your big mouth and leave right now." Ron looked at her incredulously. "Just go!"

Ron looked at her as if she were crazy, turned to Harry and Hermione, and they left.

When Ginny turned back to Draco, she saw that he had relaxed a bit. "I'm sorry Draco. You know how much of a big mouth my brother is."

Draco looked down at her and saw her pleading with her eyes. _Damn her beautiful brown eyes_, he thought to himself. _I could never be mad at those eyes_. "I'm fine," he told her.

Ginny smiled at him. "Good. Now about this tea shop…"

"I have an idea," Blaise exclaimed. This time Draco groaned.

"Knowing you, Zabini, we should be running for our lives about now."

"Very funny, Draco. Now, as I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, I think we should spend a nice, relaxing afternoon in our Head Boy's spacey, comfortable dormitory." Blaise grinned.

Draco glared at him for a moment but then he looked at Ginny and his anger dissipated. "Fine," he sighed. "But if anything happens to any of my things, it's your head." He said, pointing to Blaise.

"Oh, come one, Draco. We wouldn't dream of it," Blaise finished dramatically, and Ginny giggled.

Draco rolled his eyes and they made their way out of Hogsmeade. Once again, Ginny started to feel uncomfortable when Blaise took Catherine's hand. Ginny crossed her arms as to avoid a similar situation with Draco.

Draco noticed this. "Relax, Weasley. I don't want to touch your filthy hand," he smirked.

Ginny rolled her eyes and hit him upside the head. She knew that he really didn't mean anything by his insults. They were past that now.

Ginny and Draco continued to bicker playfully all the way up to the castle. Once inside, the group began to make its way to the dungeons, where Draco's room was located. Blaise and Draco approached to painting of the sea and the dragon with familiarity and the two girls followed. Draco mumbled the password and the four teenagers entered. Ginny looked around. The last time she was here she was a bit too distraught to admire the sophistication of the room. The woodwork was a deep mahogany and when Ginny looked at the color of the plush sofa and the bedspread, she turned to Draco, confusion written on her face.

"What? It's my favorite color." Draco said defensively. _Besides those brown eyes, of course…_

Ginny smiled at him and looked back at the midnight blue color of the bedspread and walked over to it. Touching the fabric, Ginny thought it was the silkiest thing she's ever felt. She grinned and plopped down on the bed. Looking up, Ginny saw three pairs of eyes looking at her curiously. "What? It just…looked so comfy." Ginny said.

Draco raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed. "Is it satisfactory, Miss Weasley?" he asked.

"Definitely, I could sleep in here every night," she answered. Realizing what she said, Ginny's eyes widened in horror and she began to blush furiously.

Blaise began to grin wickedly. "Well, Catherine and I will go to the kitchens for some nibblies and you two can," he paused, feigning concentration, "um, have a pillow fight?" Ginny gaped at him, feeling as if her embarrassment had increased tenfold. Blaise chuckled and grabbed Catherine's hand again. "Ciao!" Blaise called as he exited the room.

Ginny looked over to Draco and saw that he looked sufficiently uncomfortable. _Draco Malfoy, uncomfortable?_ She thought to herself. _Never thought I'd see the day._ Though, Ginny had to admit that Draco had been acting unpredictable.

She heard him clear his throat and looked up to see him shake his head. "When do you reckon we should kill Blaise, eh?" He grinned.

Ginny laughed. "Let's attack him the second he gets back. I'm afraid I didn't realize what I would be getting myself into when I became friends with him."

"I felt the exact same way when we first became friends in our first year." Draco laughed slightly, grinning at the memory. "Yeah, he sort of has a thing for playing matchmaker, I suppose. My first kiss was at Hogwarts. Pansy Parkinson, to be exact." His grin suddenly turned into a frown.

Ginny walked up to him, a serious expression on her face. When she was standing in front of him, she put her hands on his shoulders and said, "I am so dreadfully sorry." Then she burst out laughing and stepped back a bit, dropping her hands.

Draco grabbed her hands and held them lightly in between them. She raised her eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked.

"I thought you didn't want to hold my filthy hands, Malfoy," she smirked at him.

"Blaise's back! And he has food!" came a sing-song voice from the entrance to the room.

Draco dropped Ginny's hands and rolled his eyes at Blaise. "That's just fabulous," he said sarcastically.

Blaise chortled, "Oh, I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?"

Draco rolled his eyes again. "No, Blaise, you weren't. We were just discussing how we're going to kill you. Isn't that right, Ginny?"

Ginny smiled wickedly. "Indeed it is. You watch your back, Zabini." She told him seriously.

Blaise suddenly looked less cheerful. "Aw, come on, guys. What did I do?"

Draco glared at him. "A _pillow fight_, Blaise? Honestly, you would think that after my first year you would stop trying to torture me."

Blaise suddenly laughed. "Are you talking about the time you and Parkinson-"

"Enough!" Draco roared. "We do _not_ talk about that." Draco shuddered.

Ginny laid a hand on his shoulder. "Once again, I am so very sorry for you."

Draco looked into her damnable brown eyes again and his annoyance with Blaise vanished. He looked away quickly. _Damn those eyes…_

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A/N: yeah, sorry for all the cutesy-ness. i just couldn't resist. REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.


	13. Chapter 13

Okay. I changed my mind. I'm not going to change the title of the story. Why? I heard the song 'Only Happy When it Rains' by Garbage on the radio the other day and I burst out laughing. So I felt that I had to keep it the same.

I tend to burst out laughing a lot. I swear I'm sane.

Sorry for extreme wait. Finals, you know?

Chapter 13— the Rain

After spending the afternoon with Blaise, Catherine, and Ginny in his room, Draco felt exhausted, as well as thoroughly confused. Every time he looked into Ginny Weasley's eyes he felt a foreign emotion stirring inside of him, and it scared him. He could easily say that he was attracted to her, most of the guys at Hogwarts were, but he felt something more. He also knew that he cared for her, and every time that thought popped into his head, he hastily added 'as a friend,' as if to ease his mind.

He stared out the window in his dormitory and sighed. He could see thunderclouds moving towards the school grounds and he knew that it would be a terrible storm.

--

Ginny walked back to her Common Room after spending the afternoon with Catherine, Blaise, and Draco. Her mind was swimming; she couldn't get Draco off of her mind. She couldn't get her mind around the fact that she cared for him, and that her enemy was now a very close friend. He had comforted her in her times of need and she was eternally grateful.

She entered the Common Room and Ron immediately rushed over to her. Ginny sighed exasperatedly. "Ronald, if you're going to give me a lecture about 'the company I keep,' I suggest you save it because—"

She stopped at the look on Ron's face. His face was masked with concern. "Gin, I just got an owl from mum."

Ginny's thoughts immediately went to those of death; she was afraid that maybe another one of her siblings had been killed. As her eyes began to fill with tears, Ron said hastily, "No, Ginny, it's not that. But it is about…Bill."

Ginny gasped and nodded, urging him to continue. "And? What about him?"

Ron sighed. "The Order reckons that Bill was killed because…because…" he looked afraid to continue.

"C'mon, Ron, just say it!"

He sighed again. "They reckon that Bill was killed because of this huge plot You-Know-Who has…"

"And that plot would be…?"

Ron ran a hand through his hair. "You-Know-Who, well I think he was persuaded by Lucius Malfoy, but You-Know-Who is having Death Eaters terminate…us."

Ginny's eyes widened in shock. "Us?! As in our family?" Ron nodded. "That's…that's…completely ridiculous and pointless and UGH! I thought I hated that man before, but now I hate him even more! How can they just rid the world of us? We are pureblood and we are one of the oldest wizarding families!"

"I know, Gin, I know. Mum also wrote that we need to lay low and stay away from all of the Slytherins, because of Junior Death Eaters, and that she, Dad, Charlie, Fred, George have gone into hiding. I think they even managed to drag Percy with them."

Ginny looked very worried. She didn't want to have to stay away from Draco or Blaise for that matter. She knew that neither of them would ever become Death Eaters, but it was too much of a risk to be spending so much time with them. Ginny sighed. "Okay, Ron." She smiled weakly and walked up the stairs.

Once in the dormitory, she looked out her window and saw the ominous clouds that hung overhead. It was going to storm. And there was nothing that Ginny loved more than a great thunderstorm. Smiling, she grabbed a hooded cloak and headed back downstairs.

--

Draco watched in confusion as a dark figure made its way across the school grounds. He was beginning to wonder what crazy person would go out in this storm when a gust of wind whipped the hood off of the person. Immediately, Draco saw a mass of red hair and he perked up.

Ginny was outside in the storm.

At first, Draco thought that she must be insane. Then he thought that she might be in some sort of distress and is looking for peace by the lake. Thinking on the latter, Draco grabbed his own cloak and left his dormitory.

He jogged lightly through the corridors until he came to the Entrance Hall. He glanced around to make sure Filch and other teachers weren't present, and he opened the great oak doors. There was a simultaneous rumble of thunder and flash of lightning. However, it wasn't raining just yet.

Draco could see Ginny standing by the lake, watching how the wind rippled the water. He slowly made his way over to her, wondering what he was going to do if she was in some sort of trouble.

He approached her cautiously and reached out a hand to her shoulder. She started and whipped around to look at him, her eyes wide.

"Draco?" she looked at him, slightly baffled. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same," he retorted with a calculating gaze.

Then, Ginny smiled up at him. "I just love the rain. And I love thunderstorms. I don't know why, I've always been like this," she giggled.

Draco raised an eyebrow and said, "You will never cease to amaze me, Ginny Weasley."

Ginny laughed, and then stopped short. When she heard her last name she remembered the plan Ron had told her about earlier. She began to fidget with the fastenings on her cloak.

Draco picked up on her discomfort. "What's wrong?"

Ginny looked up at him. "Ron told me something today," she said, worry evident in her voice. "Apparently, you-your…um…Lucius…persuaded Voldemort to carry out some plan that will get rid of all of us Weasleys, or something ridiculous like that."

Draco huffed in annoyance and rolled his eyes. "Leave it to…Lucius…to think up some far-fetched plan like that," he said sharply. More gently, he added, "I suppose that's why…um…your brother…?"

Ginny nodded solemnly. "My whole family had to go into hiding, except Ron and me, of course." Ginny then remembered the other warning Ron gave her and looked away from Draco. "I'm…um…also supposed to stay away from Slytherins from now on."

Draco sighed and said, "Ginny, you know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Ginny turned and looked at him again. "I know that. But my family is just as prejudiced as your father is. They wouldn't understand if I told them that you and I were friends or anything like that."

Draco looked at her with a slight look of humor on his face. "What about Blaise?"

Ginny laughed. "I don't think I could get rid of him even if I tried."

Draco looked off into the distance, not at the girl in front of him. To him, her laughter was magical, and he wanted to hear it again. He was especially pleased that he had been the one to make her laugh. He was detached from his musings by a large clap of thunder that sounded like a tree breaking from its stump, and he gave a slight start. He heard Ginny giggle, and he couldn't help but grinning.

Another thunderclap and the rain started pouring down in sheets on Hogwarts, as well as on Draco and Ginny. Ginny looked up at the sky with a twinkle in her eye and a broad smile on her face. Her hood was down and her hair was starting to get soaked and stick to her face.

Draco watched her reaction to the rain. She was gazing up at the sky as if her prayers had been answered. He watched as droplets of water ran down her face, winding in streams on her creamy face and her freckles. He thought that she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"You are beautiful, Ginny Weasley," he whispered.

Startled, Ginny looked up at him. She made eye contact with him, and they held each other's gaze for a few moments while the rain came down on them. Draco brought up his hand and cupped her face gently, feeling all of the precipitation that had made its way onto her skin. Slowly, he leaned down towards her face and gently brushed his lips against hers. He pulled back and looked at her, and she was staring back at him.

Ginny brought her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to her once again. This kiss was more passionate than the innocent one Draco had given her seconds earlier. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. She played with the hair at the nape of his neck as he made soft circles with his thumbs on her back. Draco gently pushed his tongue into her mouth and she gasped lightly.

A few moments later, they broke away, both of them breathing deeply. Draco's mercury eyes pierced into Ginny's chocolate orbs. Neither of them spoke for about a minute.

Clearing her throat, Ginny said, "Well, I guess we should…um…go. I'm a bit…chilly." Even though she said it, Ginny was not cold at all. Draco's kiss had left her with such a burning inside of her that she thought she was going to start sweating.

He nodded silently and they made their way up to the castle, Ginny at least ten paces behind him. Her mind was having a battle with itself. One side was telling her how thrilling it was to be kissed by Draco, and the other side was telling her how this is the exact opposite of what she should be doing and that she should've ended it before it started.

She growled in annoyance and Draco turned around, slightly alarmed. "What are you growling at?"

Ginny steeled herself and said, "Nothing, just…nothing," she finished lamely.

Draco sighed. "Ginny, if this is about what happened back there, then," he sighed again. "I don't know. Just forget about it, never happened." He turned to walk away but Ginny called out to him.

"Draco! How could you say that? It's not that I didn't want it to happen or that I regret it happening, it's just…" she trailed off.

He arched an eyebrow. "What? It's just that you're a Weasley and I'm a Malfoy? That I'm a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor? Ginny, I thought you were above that."

She rolled her eyes. "That's not it at all!" He raised both his eyebrows. "Okay, it sort of is, but listen! I just told you about that whole 'Rid the World of the Weasley Family' thing, so it's not exactly a great idea when a Weasley starts kissing the son of one of the most notorious Death Eaters," she finished, breathing heavily.

Draco ran a hand through his hair, and looked up with pained eyes. "Ginny, I thought you knew that I would never hurt you, and that I would never become what my father is. Now, I don't even know what to think." He turned his back on her and this time, Ginny didn't call out.

Her eyes began to fill with tears and she turned and walked in the opposite direction, back towards the lake. She hated how it had to be so difficult for them. She was hopelessly attracted to him, with his piercing grey eyes and his pale blonde hair that played across his forehead. She also felt something deeper for him than physical attraction. She felt deep down in her heart that she cared for Draco and she wouldn't want anything to happen to him. She didn't want to hurt him and, unwittingly, she did.

After the storm passed, Ginny made her way back up to the castle. She would ask Blaise what to do. He always seemed to know what to do.

A/N: woo they kissed. It was pretty exciting to write, I must say. Sorry about the lame ending part but I kinda wanted to end it there. Reviews are great, especially cuz I'm horrendously sick and I'm practically on my death bed.


	14. Chapter 14

sincerest apologies for my abysmal updating. i've been having a pretty lame month. i'm hoping my writing improved somewhat...and i think this is gonna be a pretty informative chapter.

i've also decided to give up on chapter titles :D

Chapter 14

Draco stormed through the castle's front doors, continuing his rampage until he reached his Head Boy dormitory. He entered and sneered when he saw his bed, remembering how adorable Ginny had looked when she plopped herself onto his bed. Glancing quickly around his room, Draco grabbed a photo of his mother off of his desk and threw it at the wall, grimly satisfied when the frame shattered and the photo fluttered pathetically to the floor. He couldn't help cursing himself for his lapse in sanity. Why on earth would he ever compliment her, and then kiss her? Sure, he cared about her, but just as a friend, right? He didn't even know anymore. If there was one thing Draco Malfoy couldn't stand, it was being confused.

He shuffled his feet over to the broken picture frame and muttered a _reparo_ to fix it. He carefully picked up the picture of his mother and smiled sadly. It was a picture of Narcissa and Draco when he was four years old. They were out on the Malfoy grounds, around the gardens. Because it was a wizarding photo, the same scene played over and over again. It showed a four year-old Draco running up to his mother with a small bouquet of daffodils and tulips and black-eyed susans and a rose or two. Draco watched as his toddler self mouthed the words '_for you, mommy_' and handed the flowers to Narcissa. Then Narcissa would pick him up, swing him around in a circle and kiss him on the forehead.

After watching the tender scene twice, Draco became angry. He loved the woman in the picture; he wasn't so sure about the one that's sitting home right now. Not even a month after the flower-giving episode, Narcissa seemed to shut down. She was always shut up in her room, she never tucked Draco in at night, and sometimes, Draco could hear her wailing in the night, a desperate cry for help. He had no idea what had happened to his mother but it seemed as if she just stopped caring about everything. Draco was a very impressionable young child, so the lack of his mother's affection and attention led him to believe that love from a parent was not a necessity. After all, he had Lucius for a father, so he had never really expected much from him. Draco crumpled the photo and dropped it on the ground in front of him.

Draco grew up, bred with the knowledge that money and power were the keys to happiness. He spent most of his youth acting the perfect Malfoy heir to Lucius and all of his "business associates." He never once questioned his father's motives and his father never disclosed any information to him. It wasn't until his sixth year that Draco started to see things differently. After the disaster at the Department of Mysteries (his father did indeed go to jail, but was released after several bribes and manipulations), Draco realized that being a Death Eater wasn't as glamorous as his father made it out to be. His realizations became even more solid after the tragedy he was forced to witness that summer.

The one person who helped Draco get through all this strife was Blaise Zabini. Him and Blaise had been wary of each other since they first met at a dinner party at Malfoy Manor before they started school. Slytherins were natural skeptics, so they hardly ever talked about anything besides homework and never tried once to become friends. At the beginning of sixth year, Draco went up to his dormitory and found that Blaise was sitting on his bed, crying. Draco had no idea how to deal with someone crying, let alone anyone who shared their emotions so openly. When Blaise looked up at Draco's questioning yet contemptuous face, he held up a letter for Draco to take. The blonde approached him cautiously and lightly took to letter from Blaise's hands. The letter disclosed that Blaise's father was in Azkaban for killing his mother. Draco softened slightly and offered his sympathies to Blaise. He also empathized that his mother was as good as dead, seeing as she hardly lets anyone know that she exists. After that, a bond was sort of created between Blaise and Draco and they became each others confidants.

Draco remembered Blaise telling him about his mother, and he also remembered that she seemed a lot like Narcissa, until she shut herself off from the world. Draco had hardly seen his mother in the past dozen years; an occasional glimpse or two when he would walk past her room and the door would be open slightly.

The blonde-haired Slytherin sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. He sometimes felt that he thoroughly detested his existence, but deep down, a tiny, microscopical part of him believed that he was put on this earth to do something worthwile. Right now, he wasn't so sure. He had a loathesome creature for a father, he hadn't seen his mother in over a decade, he had unwanted, yet irrevocable feelings for a certain redhead, and he felt like his existence was a waste of time. The only thing he would probably say is good about his life would be his friendship with Blaise, though he would never tell the other Slytherin such a thing. The dark-haired boy was conceited enough.

Draco didn't know how Blaise did it. He went through a lot of tragedy in his life, but he was probably one of the most free-spirited, live-life-to-the-fullest people Draco has ever met. If Draco were to ever act like that, people would think that the world had suddenly fallen out of orbit and that Voldemort would become the new Santa Claus. No, Draco had to keep up his cold front.

While Draco was lost in his musings, Blaise walked in with a smug grin on his face. When Draco looked up at him and shot him with a piercing glare, Blaise wiped the look off of his face and replaced it with one of concern.

"Draco, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm just fine and dandy, how about yourself?" he answered, voice dripping with sarcasm. "And what the bloody hell were you looking so satisfied about?"

Blaise laughed nervously. "Well, I saw you and a certain redhead a few moments ago--"

Draco stood up. "There's nothing to be looking happy about. She's a daft little girl and I wish she would get the hell out of my head!" He began to pace. Blaise noticed the balled up photo on the ground.

"Draco, what's that photo on the ground?"

Draco stopped to pick up the picture and hand it to Blaise before resuming his pacing. The dark haired boy smoothed it out and watched the familiar scene. He had seen this picture many times, and he saw the tender, longing look that unknowingly crossed Draco's face whenever he looked at it. Thinking about Draco's mother made Blaise miss his own mother. His throat became a little tight, so he cleared it and placed the picture on the desktop.

"So, Draco, what happened with Ginny?"

Draco stopped his pacing and glared at the other boy for a moment, before relating the story of what happened earlier, including his psychotic father's ploy. "She's bloody mental! One minute she's throwing herself at me and the next she's practically beating herself up for it because of our last names! Honestly!"

"Maybe she wouldn't be so hung up on your last names if you hadn't acted so hostile towards their family in particular in the last six years. And there's the whole thing with your...um...Lucius. She's bound to be confused. She just lost a family member and she's, as her brother would so eloquently put it, _fraternizing with the enemy_." Blaise shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, Draco. Fate has really screwed you two over this time."

Draco exploded. "What the hell does fate have to do with this?! This was just a mistake. I can't believe I let myself get fooled by that little Weasley. This is why I don't trust emotions. They just end up hurting you and making you so bloody confused that you can't even think straight!"

Blaise smiled inwardly to himself. He was witnessing the damn near impossible. It appeared that Draco Malfoy was actually _falling_ for Ginny Weasley. "Hey Draco?" Blaise cut into the other boy's rant.

"--annoying little--what?" Draco rounded on him. "And what the bloody hell are you grinning about now?"

Blaise's grin broadened. "Draco Malfoy. I think you're falling in love." He wiped an invisible tear from his eye. "It's a beautiful moment, really."

Draco gaped at him for a full minute, before bursting into laughter. He doubled over, holding his stomach. "Blaise, that's rich!" he managed to gasp out. "Me, a Malfoy, falling in love with a _Weasley_?! Wow, you really know how to make a guy laugh!" Draco shook his head as he began to sober up. "...in love...Weasley..." he chuckled.

Blaise persisted. "Think about it, Draco. She's obviously been plaguing your every thought, you're above the whole last name prejudices, you're all pissed because she practically rejected you, and you keep talking about emotions. Either you're in love, or you're just very crazy." Blaise paused. "Then again, they are practically the same thing."

Draco pondered this for a moment before groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose. "How quick can you get me to St. Mungo's? I think I'm going insane."

Blaise feigned irritation. "Come on, Draco. You're in love with her. Admit it already."

"No. This can't be happening. Malfoy's do _not_ fall in love. Especially with Weasley's. No, no, _no_!" he spoke as if trying to reassure himself. He turned to Blaise. "You! This is all _your_ fault!" he pointed his finger at him accusingly.

Blaise arched an eyebrow. "Oh? How so? Please, Draco. Enlighten me."

"That's it! You would've liked nothing more than getting your two best friends together so you...used a love potion! Or a nice strong, steady _Imperio_ could have done it. Yes, that's it!"

Blaise blinked at him. "Anything else, Sherlock? No? Good. I'm sending an owl to St. Mungo's and checking you in right away."

The blonde boy sighed in defeat. "Blaise, how on earth did this happen?"

"Did _what_ happen?" he purposefully played dumb to hear Draco say the words. He didn't get sorted into Slytherin for nothing.

"How in Merlin's name did I fall in love with Ginny?" he said a bit exasperatedly. When he saw Blaise's smug look, he realized what the other boy had done. "You little bastard! You knew what I was talking about, you just wanted to hear me say the actual words! Fine, have it your way, Zabini. I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, am in love with Ginevra-something-Weasley! Happy?"

"Molly."

"What? Molly? Are you mental?"

"Molly. Ginevra Molly Weasley." When Draco continued to stare at him, he said, "What? I thought it would help your little declaration of love if you knew her middle name." he rolled his eyes.

"Molly? But isn't that her cow of a mother's--" Blaise glared at him and Draco cleared his throat. "I mean, isn't that her lovely...erm...bodacious? Yes, isn't that her lovely, bodacious mother's name?" he asked, clearly uncomfortable.

Blaise, clearly amused at Draco's word choice, nodded. "Yes. But don't you love her first name? I mean, it's just so..._powerful_ sounding. One would think her name is Virginia, but I think Ginevra suits her much better. Isn't it supposed to be some sort of derivation of the name Guinevere? As in King Arthur's queen?" he asked. _Funny_, he added to himself, _Arthur is her father's name_.

"How the hell am I supposed to know that, Blaise? And why the hell do _you_ know that? Do you look up people's name's histories for kicks?" Draco looked at him with a slight look of bewilderment on his face.

Blaise blushed slightly. "Well, to be completely honest, I may have fancied Ginny myself once upon a time..." he looked away, hoping Draco wouldn't explode. Draco is notorious for having volcanic fits of jealousy.

"When?" Draco demanded, trying to keep his temper in check. Even though Ginny wasn't technically _his_ and Blaise's liking of her was in the past, he still couldn't help but feeling a bout of envy.

Blaise thought for a moment. "Well, we had a bit of a run-in in our sixth year, her fifth. I knocked into her, accidentally of course, and she shot me with a Bat-Bogey hex so fierce, I thought I wouldn't be able to see for months. It was amazing," Blaise reminisced. "She absolutely fascinated me, so I just looked around a bit to find out more about her." Draco remembered the situation all too well. After Blaise had told him what the charming little Weasley had done, Draco became a tad bit fascinated himself. He started to watch her at meal times, and he learned to adore the red hair that he had snubbed for the past five years. If someone back then were to tell Draco that a little attraction to Ginny would lead to him falling in love with her less than a year later, he probably would have hexed them into the next century.

Draco looked at him with a calculating gaze. "And why, pray tell, didn't you pursue her?"

"Oh, come on, Draco, you know I'm the modest type," Blaise teased.

Draco looked at him with mock seriousness. "I didn't even think 'modest' was a word in your vocabulary. And, remind me to tell your little girlfriend how much of a creepy stalker you can be."

Blaise feigned hurt. "Draco, you wound me to no end."

"Remind me why I have a drama queen for a best friend?" Draco grinned.

"Because of my dashing good looks and irresistible charm?"

"I'm your friend, you idiot, not your _boy_friend. Merlin's beard," Draco sighed exasperatedly.

"I know, Dray, but you love me all the same," Blaise smirked at the indignant look on Draco's face. "Oh, that's right. You love a cute little fox named Guinevere."

Draco rolled his eyes at his best friend's antics, but he still could not get the fact that he was in love with Ginny Weasley out of his head.

"So how are you going to do it?" Blaise asked.

"Do what?" Draco responded cautiously.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "How are you going to get her back? You're in love with her, for Merlin's sake. You can't just let that slide."

Draco crossed his arms stubbornly and put his nose in the air. "Just because I love the little weasel doesn't mean I have to be exactly _happy_ with her at the moment."

Blaise sighed. "Fine, Draco. I'll talk to her." At Draco's horrified look, Blaise quickly added, "But don't worry, I won't tell her about the big L word just yet. You can do that yourself." Draco grimaced slightly as Blaise made his way towards to door.

"Hey Blaise!" Draco called after him.

"Yes?" Blaise said dramatically while poking his head back in the doorway.

"Thanks." Draco grinned weakly.

Blaise smiled back. "No problem, Draco." And with that, he left the Head Boy dormitory.

----

Usually, regret was not a word in Ginny Weasley's vocabulary. But lately, it seemed as if everything she did, she instantly regretted afterwards. She was bitterly reprimanding herself for ever going out with the Golden Boy, for isolating herself at the beginning of the year, for trusting not one, but two Slytherins, for standing out in the rain for Merlin knows how long, and for kissing Draco Malfoy.

It was obvious why she regretted dating Harry, seeing as how it ended in disaster. Because she isolated herself, she lost a lot of her good friends, like Colin and Luna. It wasn't as if she regretted her friendship with Blaise, but she wished that he wasn't a Slytherin. Also, because she had stayed out in the rain for so long, she had a horrible head cold to match how horrible she was feeling for kissing Malfoy. She had just learned that his father was behind some elaborate plot to destroy her family and what does she do? She goes and kisses him! Ginny was ashamed of herself.

Yet, she couldn't get the pained look that crossed Draco's face when she told him that she shouldn't have kissed him out of her head. She felt extremely guilty for making him feel that way, but she didn't know why he was so hurt. Ginny always knew that Draco Malfoy was one to always shelter his feelings, and never let any kind of emotion so freely pass across his face. She felt like she had sort of led him on by kissing him, and then revoking it by talking about their bloody last names. Ginny groaned when she realized what she had done. She had made Draco feel like he was being incriminated just because of his name, his father's name. _Stupid Ginny_, she thought to herself. _How bloody shallow can you get?_

She decided that she might as well keep her friendship with Blaise, and she planned on owling him to talk to him about Draco, but not after she got a Pepper-Up potion from Madame Pomfrey.

Ginny shuffled her feet to the Hospital Wing, and when Madame Pomfrey saw her, she blew up. "What in Merlin's name were you doing outside? It's a bloody storm out there! You could be dying!"

Ginny rolled her eyes at Madame Pomfrey's antics and asked, stuffily, for a Pepper-Up potion, insisting that it was just a head cold. Madame Pomfrey looked at her sternly and gave her the potion. Ginny downed it quickly, feeling instantly better, and left the Hospital Wing.

Her next stop was the Owlery. On her way up, however, she met the Slytherin that she was wanting to write to. "Blaise, I'm so glad I found you! I was about to owl you to meet me somewhere." He looked at her curiously, silently encouraging her to continue. "Listen, I really need to talk to you. But not here...um...why don't we go down to the kitchens? I'm a bit famished." She smiled nervously and led him to the portrait of the bowl of fruit, tickled the pear, and opened the portrait.

They sat down at a table and Blaise asked her, "Is this about Draco?"

Ginny sighed. "Yes." She put her head on the table. "I'm a horrible person, you know that?"

"Why's that, Gin?"

Ginny lifted her head off of the table and she began to explain to Blaise what had happened earlier outside, how she had kissed Draco and then told him how she thought it was stupid of them to do it because of who his father was.

Blaise looked at her sadly. "Well, I'm going to be brutally honest here, Ginny. Let's just say that you said probably the worst thing you could possibly say after kissing Draco. You could have told him he was a horrible kisser and he would have been happier than what I saw earlier."

Ginny looked at him curiously. "You saw him earlier? How was he?"

Blaise looked a bit uncomfortable. He didn't want to tell her anything about Draco's mother, he felt as if it wasn't his place. "Well, he was a bit down, obviously, but then we just talked for a bit and I think he's actually in a bit of a better mood. With me, at least. Can't say he's exactly happy with you." Blaise smiled sympathetically.

Ginny groaned. "Okay, so should I apologize? Should I give him time? What should I do, Blaise?" she asked, desperation in her voice.

Blaise leaned back in his chair and put a finger on his chin. "Hmm...why don't you have him meet you at the Room of Requirement after dinner? I'll relay the message to him."

Ginny thought about it for a moment, then nodded her consent. "Perfect. Now I just have to figure out what to say to him. Should I apologize profusely and grovel at his feet?" she grinned.

Blaise laughed. "Not necessarily. You should definitely apologize, and give him some sort of explanation about your actions, and maybe you should throw in that he's a fabulous kisser. You know, for his ego." he smirked.

Ginny giggled. "What would I do without you, Blaise?" she stood up, getting ready to leave.

Blaise pondered this for a minute. "Well, I suppose you would be in a right fix if you didn't have me to get you out of it."

Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "I guess you're right."

They walked out of the kitchen arm in arm, while Ginny thought to herself what she should say to Draco later on.

----

After dinner, Ginny approached the area where the Room of Requirement was located. She saw that the door was already in place and that it was open a crack. _Draco must already be here_, she thought to herself.

Ginny wasn't even able to eat anything during dinner, despite her previous hunger. She nervously kept glancing at the Slytherin table, waiting for Draco to leave so she could follow. Everytime she looked up, Blaise would catch her eye and wink at her. She would smile back at him and resume to staring at her full plate.

Ginny took a deep breath and pushed the door open, cringing when it began to creak. Draco turned around at the noise and saw Ginny standing there in the doorway. She cleared her throat awkwardly before closing the door behind her. Without making eye contact, she walked to the sofa that was in the middle in the room and sat down. Draco stayed where he was standing. Steeling herself, Ginny looked up into Draco's eyes. She spoke directly, sincerely, to him. "Draco, I'm sorry, incredibly sorry. What I said was ignorant and foolish and I take it back. I know you're not your father; I was just scared. I-I don't know what to do about any of this," her voice cracked and Draco knew that she would probably start crying. Indeed, tears started to fall down her face and Draco sat beside her.

He put his arm around her shoulders and she wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's okay, Ginny. I probably would have done the same thing if I found out that your father wanted to kill my family," he joked mirthlessly.

"Draco my father isn't even capable of hurting a fly," she said exasperatedly, before laughing lightly. "I'm really, really sorry Draco."

"I know, Gin," he kissed the top of her head lightly. "I know. And listen, I'm going to try to do whatever I can to stop my father."

"No, Draco, you don't have to--"

"Yes, I do, Ginny. All my life, I've felt that my existence was worth nothing, and that I was only put on this earth to please my father. Now, I want to do something worthwile, something that I'm meant to do, and I feel that stopping my father is what I have to do," he said seriously.

Ginny sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt. I really care about you."

_Tell her now_, his conscience commanded. _Tell her that you love her now._ "I-I really care about you too, Gin." _Damn it all_.

Ginny turned in his embrace to smile at him, before kissing him on the lips. They kissed softly for a few moments when the door, oddly, burst open. Harry stood there, with a mixed look of fury and betrayal on his face.

"Ginny, what the bloody hell are you doing?!"

Ginny sighed exasperatedly and muttered to Draco, "Honestly, it's like I'm friends with him or something." Draco chuckled lightly before Ginny stood up. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"You can explain to me why the hell you were snogging ferret boy over there!"

"I resent that!" Draco called out. Both Ginny and Harry shushed him.

"Potter, I don't see how this is any of your business. You're not my friend, you're not my brother. You have no place in my life, so I suggest you leave before I make you," she pointed her wand at him threateningly.

Ginny and Harry glared daggers at each other before Harry smirked wickedly, a look that's really very unbecoming of him. "Well, I happen to know a certain brother of yours who would most likely erupt when I disclose this nice little bit of information to him." He turned and walked out of the Room of Requirement, and in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

"Bloody prat," she muttered.

Draco looked at her confused. "Ginny? Aren't you going to stop him? You know how apopleptic your brother can get."

Ginny laughed. "Well, considering how my brother and Potter are in a pretty tentative friendship at the moment, I'm pretty sure I can get away with telling Ron that Harry made it up in hopes that Ron would probably kill you, making me all sad and distressed and running into the arms of the bloody Golden Boy." She laughed to herself for a moment before sobering quickly. "Actually, you should probably get out of here. Gryffindor is on this floor so it's only a matter of time before my brother comes storming in here like the tactless dunderhead that he is."

Draco stood up to leave. He kissed Ginny and said, "See you around." They smiled at each other a last time before he left for the dungeons.

Ginny exited the room and made her way to Gryffindor. On the way, she met up with Ron and Harry who were running towards her as if the devil was on their heels. Ginny feigned concern. "Ron, what's the matter?"

"Where is he?!" he shouted.

Ginny looked at him curiously. "Where's who?"

"Malfoy!"

She continued to stare at him. "Am I missing something here?"

Ron glared at her. "Harry just told me that he caught you two snogging in the Room of Requirement!"

Ginny laughed, boisterously. "Me? Snogging ferret boy? That's rich, Ron. Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"Harry told me he saw you!"

Ginny rounded on Harry, her laughter ceasing. "Oh he did, did he? Well I've got news for you. No such thing happened and if Harry thinks that he can make things up in some twisted scheme he has to make me go back to him, then I don't think you should believe him Ron."

Ron turned to Harry. "You made it up?"

Harry looked at him incredulously. "No, I didn't! She's totally trying to turn you against me! I never did anything to her!"

Ginny scoffed. "That's the greatest load of dragon dung I've ever heard. Never did anything to me? Does the name 'Mallory Sinclair' ring a bell, you brainless fool?" She huffed in annoyance. "Whatever, you two. I'm off, lots of studying to do." With that, she left the two boys and made her way to Gryffindor.

Ron looked at Harry seriously. "Harry, I have no idea what's going on here, but I think it's best if we didn't associate too much with each other from now on." When Harry didn't respond, Ron walked away after his sister.

Harry punched the stone wall in frustration before sinking to the ground. He bowed his head, vowing to never let anyone see the tears that fell from his eyes.

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A/N: well, this is a lot longer than expected. poor harry, eh? yeah. this chapter is nothing like the way i outlined it to be. the part with draco and blaise was way longer than i intended.

i honestly have no idea where i come up with any of this stuff.

reviews are nice :D


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